• Question: as you get older does your blood flow slower through your body ? if so why?

    Asked by 8bitandrei to Fiona, Audra, Gavin, Justin, Steve on 13 Mar 2012. This question was also asked by welove1dxx.
    • Photo: Fiona Hatch

      Fiona Hatch answered on 9 Mar 2012:

      Such an interesting question!! So many different ways to answer!! I’m sorry if I get carried away 😛

      So the speed at which your blood flows is due to two things: Your heart and your blood vessels (these are the slightly blueish lines you can see under your skin).

      Your heart is very strong and can pump your blood at a fast speed, as it leaves your heart it goes through your first vessel which is called the aorta and is an artery. This vessel is very stretchy and so it stretches and shrinks as blood goes through it. The pressure the blood squeezes through is called blood pressure. You can also feel the stretching and shrinking if you feel your artery vessel on your wrist or neck – this is the heart pushing blood into your vessels.

      So when you’re young your heart is healthy and it can pump the blood through the vessels very easily. But as you get older the aorta (the stretchy vessel) loses its strechyness, so it does not stretch or shrink as easily. Imagine that rather it being made of an elastic band, it is now made of a plastic bottle. This causes to heart to have to pump harder to get it through your vessel, and so your pressure increases. That is why in some adults their blood pressure is high and they have to go to the doctors about it.

      After many years of your heart pumping extra hard it starts to get tired, and weaken. This is when your heart will not pump as much blood. This will lead to other heart problems and most likely death.

      So your heart pumps blood at the same speed throughout your life, but as your vessels lose their stretchyness the heart starts to weaken and get more and more tired, this will cause the blood flow to be slower.

      All this may start to happen at around 50 years of age and your heart will very very slowly weaken from then on, for another 20-30 years. But eating bad food like sweets, crisps, cakes and things with high fat and salt in them, will increase the chances that this happens.

    • Photo: Justin Lawley

      Justin Lawley answered on 13 Mar 2012:

      This question is what many scientist are researching right now and also researching ways to prevent it. In fact, I think Gavin studies these exact questions. I am sure he can explain how both a good diet and exercise can maintain blood flow as you get older.

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