BANGALORE, India -- Why do heart attacks occur mostly between 4 a.m. and 6 a.m.? It's because a rise in blood pressure due to stress in the early mornings corresponds to one's internal clock.
"This was shown recently by researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine and they are currently working on the possibility of introducing drugs to reset the molecular clock for controlling blood pressure, to reduce the risk of early morning heart attacks and strokes," Dr. Sugandhi Gopal, interventional cardiologist, Wockhardt Hospital, said.
Researchers at Emory University School of Medicine have shown that the internal lining of the artery by the endothelial cells that are constantly damaged are repaired by the stem cells. But during the process of repair, the stem cells block the artery, leading to heart attacks or strokes in the morning.
Hence, being relaxed in the early morning hours is very essential, according to Dr. Sugandhi.
In countries like Germany and Holland, shops and offices are not opened till 11 a.m. on Mondays, in an effort to battle the Monday morning blues. It was observed in these countries that Mondays clocked a rise in the number of suicides, apart from heart attacks and strokes due to stress.
