Regular exercise has more benefits Make your heart stronger. It may also reprogram the nerves that control the heartbeat, a new study has found.
The discovery could ultimately help doctors better treat common conditions such as irregular heartbeats, chest pain, angina and stress-related “broken heart” syndrome, according to scientists at the University of Bristol in the UK.
The study examined laboratory rats after 10 weeks of aerobic exercise and found that moderate exercise had no effect on the heart. neural control system equally. Instead, distinct and opposite changes occur on the left and right sides of the body. According to the researchers, this split has gone largely unnoticed until now.
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On the right side, the study found that the nerve hubs that send signals to the heart to “go fast” developed more nerve cells, suggesting increased wiring.
However, the number of neurons did not increase significantly on the left side. Instead, existing cells became significantly larger, indicating that a different type of adaptation had occurred.
“Our findings show that there is a previously hidden left-right pattern in the body’s ‘autopilot’ system that helps the heart work,” said Dr. Augusto Coppi, lead author of the study and senior lecturer in veterinary anatomy at the University of Bristol, in a statement.
“This may help explain why some treatments One side will work better than the other and will help doctors target treatment more accurately and effectively in the future. ”
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The findings show that exercise restructures the heart’s neural control system in a unilaterally specific way, rather than affecting both sides equally, the researchers said.
Understanding this process could help doctors provide more appropriate treatment, especially for patients who are unable to exercise or whose symptoms persist despite exercise. Lifestyle changes.
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The researchers likened the nerve mass, known as the stellate ganglion, to a “dimmer switch” that fine-tune the intensity of the heart’s stimulation. Fine tuning is important because overstimulation of these nerves can lead to chest pain and dangerous heart rhythm problems.
This discovery is in its early stages and based only on animal studies, so a similar effect in humans has not been proven.
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The researchers pointed out that: further research is needed The study could determine whether similar left and right neural changes occur in people and help explain why some heart treatments are more effective on one side than the other, potentially paving the way for more precise and personalized care.
The study was carried out in collaboration with researchers from University College London, the University of São Paulo and Brazil’s Federal University of São Paulo.
The study was published in the journal Autonomic Neuroscience.
Fox News Digital has reached out to the study authors for comment.
