Local experts find cause of early morning strokes and heart attacks

Research by local medical experts has uncovered a cause for why early morning is the peak time for thrombotic events like stroke and heart attack.

Experts from Shanghai's Renji Hospital found that the accumulation of platelets and formation of a clot have a peak time in the morning.

The condition is driven, they found, by the body's circadian nuclear receptor Rev-erbα.

The experts used multiple models to confirm the discovery and said the receptor can be a target to develop inhibitors to stop the accumulation, and reduce and prevent the risk of stroke and heart attack.

Thrombotic events are risky factors for cardiovascular diseases and tumor. But the medical field hadn't found the reason for why the event is more likely to take place in early morning.

The discovery provides a new understanding and new target for medical intervention and drug development.

The discovery was published in the world-leading European Heart Journal.