I'm in my forties and have noticed that whenever I get a cut or a spot, it takes longer to heal than it did ten years ago. Why is this and will it get worse as I age?
Our healing processes don't really change much until we are in later old age, when our blood vessels are becoming more fragile and our abilities to mobilise our white cells and our immune proteins (the essentials for healing) reduce. In your forties, however, there is little difference in these processes than from your thirties. So you should be in good form for a decade or so yet. But if you are worried about it, talk things through with your doctor. I would bet, however, that you are healthy and just worrying unnecessarily.
The booklet ‘Angina and Heart Attacks' by the British Medical Association tells me the underlying cause of angina (from which I now seem to suffer) is atheroma or atherosclerosis. Is this the ‘hardening of the arteries' and is it the same as ‘fatty deposits'? And is it reversible?
I was taught the term atheroma comes from the ancient Greek word atheros, which loosely means porridge. And it is the medical term for fatty deposits on the walls of the arteries. So it is the softening, rather than the hardening, of the arteries. This is caused by calcium deposits in, and thickening of, their walls with age and rising blood pressure. Areas of atheroma in coronary arteries are the source of blood clots on their inner surfaces or microscopic bleeds into their walls. Both can cause heart attacks by blocking the blood flow to the heart muscle beyond them.
And it is reversible, as has been proven in trials of statin drugs, by taking the correct exercise, by eating suitable food and by losing excess weight (you can lose fat from your arteries just as you can from fatty tissue elsewhere). So take heart and be positive about your future.
