Heart attacks and strokes occur most frequently in the morning and your circadian clock may be the culprit

Heart attacks and strokes occur most frequently in the morning and your circadian clock may be the culprit
Heart attacks and strokes occur most frequently in the morning, and new research by scientists at Harvard University say your biological clock may be to blame. A new study published in the journal Blood studied 12 healthy adults in an intensive physiological monitoring center at Brigham and Women's Hospital. The protocols in the monitoring center were meant to desynchronize daily behavioral and environmental patterns from the internal circadian rhythm. The researchers focused on an enzyme known as Plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1), which inhibits the breakdown of blood clots. The formation of blood clots are a key contributor to heart attacks and stroke. They found that PAI-1 activity was closely tied to circadian rhythm, peaking at 6:30am. The researchers are now investigating what factors can alter PAI-1 activity, such as obesity and diabetes.

Read more:
http://www.brighamandwomens.org/about_bwh/publicaffairs/news/pressreleases/PressRelease.aspx?sub=0&PageID=1612

References:
Journal article: Human circadian system causes morning peak in pro-thrombotic plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1) independent of sleep/wake cycle. Blood, 2013. doi: 10.1182/blood-2013-07-517060 
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