Experts reveal why shift workers are more vulnerable to heart issues - Daily Mail

Shift workers are more vulnerable to heart problems than people in a regular 9-5 job because of disruptions to a natural 24-hour clock in our heart cells, a study shows. .

The risk of fatal cardiovascular events can increase when these circadian rhythms are disrupted by sporadic shift work and heart cells get 'out of sync' with the brain, the experts report. .

Different systems of the body - such as our circulatory system - follow circadian rhythms that are synchronised with a master clock in the brain.

The scientists have shown that heart cells regulate their circadian rhythms through daily changes in the levels of sodium and potassium ions. .

Different systems of the body follow circadian rhythms that are synchronised with a master clock in the brain. .

This master clock is directly influenced by environmental cues, especially light, which is why circadian rhythms are tied to the cycle of day and night.

It's already known that shift workers – who tend to work inconsistent hours during the week – are more vulnerable to heart problems

Different systems of the body follow circadian rhythms that are synchronised with a master clock in the brain

This master clock is directly influenced by environmental cues, especially light, which is why circadian rhythms are tied to the cycle of day and night.   

It's already known that shift workers - who tend to work inconsistent hours during the week - are more vulnerable to heart problems (stock image of a shift worker)

However, lifestyles that oppose our natural internal clock – such as nighttime shift work – may cause internal circadian rhythms within heart cells to become 'de-coupled' from our behaviours, the study shows. 

Risk of cardiac death could increase when heart cell circadian rhythms are disrupted and 'out of sync' with the brain's master clock, leaving the body unable to cope. 

'We think that when the circadian clocks in the heart become desynchronised from those in the brain, as during shift work, our cardiovascular system may be less able to deal with the daily stresses of working life.