Why heart attacks and strokes are most common at 6.30 a.m. - and it's not the thought of going to work
The most common time to have a heart attack or a stroke is 6.30 a.m. / Corbis
The most common time to have a heart attack or a stroke is 6.30 a.m., according to Daily Mail Thursday.
Now scientists think they have found out why this is _ and it is all down to the body clock.
Researchers discovered that levels of a protein in people’s blood that slows the breakdown of clots peaks at 6.30 a.m.
The team, from Brigham and Women's Hospital, in Boston, and Oregon Health and Science University, looked into why the number of heart attacks and strokes peak in the morning.
They studied the protein levels in the bodies of 12 healthy adult volunteers for two weeks.
The participants were assessed while their daily routines were desynchronised from their natural body clocks.
The aim of this was to establish whether it is the natural body clock or the person’s activities that causes protein levels to fluctuate.
Researchers specifically studied changes in the body’s level of the protein Plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1), which inhibits the breakdown of blood clots.
These are a major contributor to heart attack and some strokes.
The research, published in the journal Blood, found a strict rhythm in body’s level of PAI-1 with a peak at about 6.30 a.m.