Disruption in Body Clock linked with Heart Disease

The possibility has been raised by scientists that cardiovascular disease could be linked to the disturbances in the body’s 24 hour clock.

The team based in Japan were working on mice. Scientists are already aware of the genes that are needed for the circadian clock commonly referred to as the body clock, and mice lacking in molecules called cryptochromes have an unusual circadian rhythm.

However, the Kyoto university study has observed that the mice missing these cryptochromes were more vulnerable to high pressure due to large levels of a hormone that prompts water retention in the kidneys.

The link? The circadian clock directly controls a gene which plays a large role in producing this hormone, and the same is true in humans, as well.

Experts believe this to be another cause of why people that work on shift work, long distance flight crews and simply people with sleeping problems like insomnia have a greater risk of cardiovascular problems throughout their lives. It is believed by the lead researcher of the study, Professor Hitoshi Okamura, that this could lead to finding new ways of treating hypertension.

An expert in hypertension at the University of Leicester, Professor Bryan Williams said: “We know that there is a strong correlation between time of day and cardiovascular events, which often coincide with the early morning surge in blood pressure. This does provide some insights into the mechanism that might underpin blood pressure deregulation in some people.”

However, Jeremy Pearson, associate director at the British Heart Foundation said that more study was needed before a target for new treatments could be identified and noted that the genetics involved in controlling the blood pressure were not yet well understood by scientists.