title: Circadian rhythms in cardiovascular disease: the crucial hours.
abstract: Major cardiovascular events, i.e. myocardial infarction and sudden death, have a circadian variation with a peak incidence during the morning hours. The factors possibly triggering those events, namely myocardial ischaemia, sympathetic tone and blood coagulability, have a similar circadian variation which could explain the circadian distribution of the major cardiovascular events.
authors.affiliation: Saint-Luc University Hospital, Division of Cardiology, Brussels, Belgium.
authors.forename: J M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Detry
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Vincent
mesh_terms: D002318:Cardiovascular Diseases / Q000503:physiopathology*; D002940:Circadian Rhythm / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D013997:Time Factors