Link Between Heart Attack Severity and Circadian Rhythm Unveiled by UTHealth Houston Researchers

A new study from UTHealth Houston reveals why heart attacks can be more severe depending on the time of day—offering a potential path to time-targeted treatments. Published in Nature, the research found that the interaction between two proteins, BMAL1 (a circadian rhythm regulator) and HIF2A (a hypoxia response protein), influences how heart cells respond to oxygen deprivation during a heart attack.

Morning heart attacks were found to cause more damage, while afternoon attacks had less severe outcomes in mice. This difference was linked to the BMAL1-HIF2A complex’s control over the gene amphiregulin (AREG), which affects heart healing.

Targeting this pathway with drugs timed to the body’s natural clock significantly reduced heart damage. These findings could pave the way for circadian-based treatments and surgical strategies to improve heart attack recovery.

Senior author Holger Eltzschig, MD, PhD, emphasized the potential of aligning therapy with the body’s internal rhythm to boost outcomes.

 

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