From Our 2011 Archives Heart Attacks in the Morning Are More
Severe Study Shows Heart Attacks in the Morning Are More Serious
Than Those in Overnight Hours By Salynn Boyles Reviewed by Laura
J. Martin, MD April 27, 2011 -- The most common time of day for
heart attacks is the morning, and now new research suggests that
morning heart attacks are also the most serious. Heart attacks
occurring between 6 a.m. and noon were associated with the most
the damage in the study, reported Wednesday in the journal
Heart. Researchers reviewed data from more than 800 heart attack
patients treated at a hospital cardiac center in Madrid, Spain,
between 2003 and 2009. Heart attacks that occurred in the
morning hours were associated with about 20% more dead heart
tissue. The study is the first to link circadian fluctuations to
heart attack severity in humans. If confirmed, the findings
could affect treatment and research, study researcher Borja
Ibanez, MD, PhD, tells WebMD. Ibanez is a senior investigator
for Spain's National Ce