Genome medicineJul 7, 2026

How the Body Clock Controls Heart and Blood Vessel Function and What It Means for Health

Circadian Biology Weekly Brief ↗PubMed ↗DOI ↗OA ↗

Abstract

Circadian rhythms are crucial for regulating cardiovascular functions such as blood pressure and heart rate variability.

Disruptions in circadian rhythms may increase the risk of cardiovascular diseases, including hypertension and heart failure.
Factors like aging, genetics, and lifestyle can lead to circadian clock disruptions.
Circadian disruption is associated with changes in blood pressure and vascular health, potentially through inflammation and metabolic dysregulation.
The relationship between circadian biology and cardiovascular aging highlights the molecular mechanisms behind age-related declines in heart health.
Inflamm-aging may promote atherosclerosis and increase the risk of acute cardiovascular events.
Emerging research suggests that therapeutic strategies targeting circadian rhythms, such as chronotherapy and time-restricted eating, could benefit cardiovascular health.

Simplified

Circadian rhythms play a crucial role in maintaining cardiovascular homeostasis, orchestrating fluctuations in blood pressure, heart rate variability, endothelial function, and systemic vascular tone. Disruptions of the circadian clock -arising from ageing, genetic predisposition, or environmental and lifestyle factors- can significantly elevate the risk of cardiovascular diseases, including hypertension, atherosclerosis, heart failure, and arrhythmias. This review examines the role of circadian regulation in cardiovascular physiology, from molecular clock networks and clock-controlled gene regulation to systemic cardiovascular physiology and clinical translation. We discuss how circadian disruption affects blood pressure, heart rate variability, and vascular health, through mechanisms including inflammation, mitochondrial dysfunction, and metabolic dysregulation. We further position circadian biology within the broader context of cardiovascular ageing and the molecular mechanisms that drive age-associated cardiovascular decline.Special attention is given to the role of inflamm-ageing in promoting atherosclerosis and acute cardiovascular events, as well as the impact of desynchrony between central and peripheral clocks on disease severity. Additionally, we highlight the circadian regulation of genes implicated in cardiovascular ageing and disease. Finally, we explore emerging research on the clinical implications of circadian misalignment, with a focus on therapeutic strategies such as chronotherapy, time-restricted eating, and physical activity. By integrating current evidence, this review provides a comprehensive perspective on leveraging circadian rhythms for the prevention and management of cardiovascular diseases.

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Competing interests

Declarations. Ethics approval and consent to participate: Not applicable. Consent for publication: Not applicable. Competing interests: S.M. has received financial support from the Swiss Heart Foundation and the Swiss Society of Cardiology, outside this project. A.R. is CEO and co-founder and share holder of TimeTeller GmbH, D.M. is share holder at TimeTeller GmbH, a startup developing methods to measure circadian rhythms. All the other authors declare no financial or non-financial competing interests. The funders had no role in the writing of the review article.

PubMed

How the Body Clock Controls Heart and Blood Vessel Function and What It Means for Health

Abstract

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Competing interests

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