Abstract
Aging is a universal finding in all mammals, shaped by evolutionary selection and environmental influences. Without a deeper understanding of the biology of aging it is not possible to disentangle the complicated web of causation behind age-related chronic disease such as cardiovascular and metabolic disorders. The genetic program for longevity and life span is influenced by nutrition, that is, calorie intake and nutrients, as well as reproduction when the number of progeny may impact on the biology of their mothers. Epigenetic imprinting plays an important role. New research on the importance of early life factors for the programming of adult health and disease has contributed to the paradigm of a life course perspective on cardiometabolic disease. In this chapter these factors are further discussed and linked to the process of vascular aging, one reflection of the biology of aging in general for humans, leading to arteriosclerosis (arterial stiffness) and later on to atherosclerosis. New understanding can also bring new treatment, for example based on studies in either long-lived subjects or patients with premature aging, that is, included in the progeroid syndromes.
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