Figure: Images of monocytes in the brain after a heart attack and schematic of the findings. Microscopy images of monocytes in the brain of a mouse after a heart attack. Schematic of hypothesized mechanism: after a heart attack, monocytes are released from the bone marrow and recruited to the brain where they produce TNF to increase sleep which limits stress signaling to the heart and promotes heart healing and recovery.

Mount Sinai study shows how the heart and brain interact to influence sleep patterns and help with recovery

A heart attack can trigger a desire to get more sleep, allowing the heart to heal and reduce inflammation—and this happens because the heart sends special signals to the brain, according to a new Mount Sinai study. This research is the first to demonstrate how the heart and brain communicate with each other through the immune system to promote sleep and recovery after a major cardiovascular event.

The novel findings, published October 30 in Nature, emphasize the importance of increased sleep after a heart attack, and suggest that sufficient sleep should be a focus of post-heart-attack clinical management and care, including in the intensive care units, where sleep is frequently disrupted, along with cardiac rehabilitation.

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