As if creaking joints and hardening of the arteries weren't bad
enough, a research team from the University of Delaware and the
Christiana Care Health System in Newark has now confirmed that
even our veins stiffen as we age. "When you are young, your
veins are nice and elastic--like rubber bands," William
Farquhar, a cardiovascular physiologist in UD's College of
Health Sciences, said. "But as you grow older, we've found that
your veins become more like lead pipes." And that physiological
change may be an important factor in the development of high
blood pressure, or hypertension, which currently affects an
estimated 65 million Americans, most of them older adults,
according to Farquhar. The study, which was conducted over the
past two years, was led by Farquhar and Colin Young from the
University of Delaware and Michael Stillabower and Angela
Disabatino at Christiana Care Health System. The results are
published in the November issue of the Journal of Applied
Physiology. Young recently completed his bachelor