New research shows that regular aerobic exercise not only strengthens the heart muscle but also subtly reshapes the nerves that regulate its function.
Regular exercise does more than build a stronger heart. New findings show it also reshapes the nerve network that governs how the heart operates, a discovery that could pave the way for more targeted and effective therapies for common cardiac disorders.
In a study led by scientists at the University of Bristol in the UK, researchers found for the first time that moderate aerobic exercise affects the heart’s nerve control differently on the left and right sides. The researchers recently published their results in Autonomic Neuroscience.
By uncovering these distinct patterns in the heart’s nervous system, the research could ultimately contribute to better treatments for issues such as abnormal heart rhythms, chest and angina pain, and stress-related conditions like “broken-heart” syndrome.
A Hidden Left–Right Difference is Revealed
Dr. Augusto Coppi, the study’s lead author and a Senior Lecturer in Veterinary Anatomy at the University of Bristol, explained that the findings reveal a previously unknown left–right pattern within the body’s automatic nervous system that regulates the heart.
He noted that these nerve clusters function much like a dimmer switch for heart activity, and the research shows that regular, moderate exercise reshapes this control system differently on each side. This side-specific effect may help explain why certain treatments are more effective on one side than the other and could eventually allow doctors to tailor therapies with greater precision.
Researchers conducted the study in partnership with University College London in the UK, and the University of São Paulo and Federal University of São Paulo in Brazil. Using advanced three-dimensional quantitative imaging techniques known as stereology, the researchers found that rats trained over a 10-week period developed about four times as many neurons in the right-side cardiovascular nerve cluster compared with untrained rats. Meanwhile, neurons on the left side nearly doubled in size, while those on the right side became slightly smaller.
Potential Impacts on the Treatment of Heart Conditions
Dr. Coppi noted that conditions such as irregular heart rhythms (arrhythmias), stress-related “broken-heart” syndrome, and some forms of chest pain are commonly treated by reducing activity in the stellate ganglia—small paired nerve centers in the lower neck and upper chest that send stimulatory signals to the heart.
He added that by charting how exercise affects these ganglia differently on each side, the research provides insights that could eventually help refine treatments like nerve blocks or denervation, targeting the side most likely to be effective. He emphasized that the results are preliminary and come from animal studies, so researchers will need to conduct further clinical studies in humans.
Moving Toward more Targeted, Personalized Treatments
The researchers plan to study how these structural nerve changes relate to heart function both at rest and during exercise. They also aim to investigate whether the same left–right pattern exists in other animals and in humans using non-invasive methods. This could reveal whether targeting one side of the nerve cluster improves the effectiveness of treatments like stellate nerve blocks or denervation for arrhythmias, stress-related “broken-heart” syndrome, and hard-to-treat angina.
Dr. Coppi added that understanding these left–right differences could help tailor treatments for heart rhythm disorders and angina. The next step is to see how these structural changes correspond to heart function and whether similar patterns are present in larger animals and humans.
Read the original article on: SciTechDaily
Read more: Shingles Vaccine Tied to Lower Risk of Heart Attack and Stroke