Heart HealthYour Body Clock Is Running Your Heart — Here's What Breaks It
Your cardiovascular system runs on a 24-hour clock. Blood pressure, heart rate variability, and vascular tone all follow predictable daily rhythms controlled by molecular clock networks throughout the heart and blood vessels. When these rhythms are disrupted — by aging, shift work, poor sleep, or genetic factors — the risk of hypertension, atherosclerosis, heart failure, and arrhythmias rises significantly. This review synthesizes the science connecting circadian biology to heart health, exploring how clock-gene disruption triggers inflammation, mitochondrial dysfunction, and metabolic imbalance that accelerate cardiovascular aging. Encouragingly, strategies like chronotherapy (timing medications to biological rhythms), time-restricted eating, and well-timed exercise may help restore circadian alignment and reduce cardiovascular risk.
