Which statement about aging and arterial walls is true?

• A. Arteries become more elastic with age
• B. Arteriosclerosis can cause arteries to stiffen
• C. Veins are primarily affected
• D. Pulses become uniformly stronger with age

Answer: (B)

Aging reduces arterial elasticity because the arterial wall undergoes structural changes in the tunica media, including fragmentation of elastin and increased collagen, sometimes with calcification. These changes make arteries stiffer and less able to expand with each heartbeat, so systolic pressure rises and pulse pressure widens. That is why the statement about arteriosclerosis causing arteries to stiffen is true. Arteries becoming more elastic with age is incorrect, veins are not the primary site of this aging change, and pulses do not simply become uniformly stronger as arteries stiffen—the reduced compliance alters the pulse in more complex ways.