Regular exercise can improve right and left side heart nerves, holding out hope for treating broken-heart syndrome effectively.
Consistent exercise not only improves the heart function, but also modifies the nerve cluster on both the sides of the heart that control it (1✔).
Scientists from the University of Bristol (UK), conducted research on the effects of aerobics on heart nerves, the study was published in the journal Autonomic Neuroscience.
Normal aerobic workout affects the nerves of left and right side of the heart differently, helping healthcare providers discover more localized treatments for heart issues such as arrhythmia, chest pain, and broken-heart syndrome.
Redesigning the Heart's Dimmer Switch
Study lead author Dr. Augusto Coppi, Senior Lecturer in Veterinary Anatomy at the University of Bristol, said: “The discovery points to a previously hidden left–right pattern in the body’s ‘autopilot’ system that helps run the heart.”
“These nerve clusters act like the heart’s dimmer switch and we’ve shown that regular, moderate exercise remodels that switch in a side-specific way. This could help explain why some treatments work better on one side than the other and, in future, help doctors target therapies more precisely and effectively.”
3D Imaging Reveals Surprising Nerve Changes
The research, in collaboration with the University College London (UCL) in the UK and the University of São Paulo (USP) and Federal University of São Paulo (UNIFESP) in Brazil, used advanced 3D quantitative imaging analysis methods called stereology.
Findings showed that trained rats over a 10-week period had around four times more nerves – called neurons – in the cardiovascular cluster on the right-hand side of the body than the left compared to untrained rats. Conversely, the neurons on the left nearly doubled in size while those on the right slightly shrunk.
The Science Behind the Broken-Heart Syndrome
Dr. Coppi explained: “Irregular heart rhythms, known as arrhythmias, stress-induced ‘broken heart’ syndrome, and certain types of chest pain are often treated by dialling down overactive stellate ganglia – the paired small nerve hubs in the lower neck/upper chest area that send ‘go faster’ signals to the heart.”
“By mapping how exercise changes these ganglia on each side, the study offers clues that could one day fine tune procedures like nerve blocks or denervation to the side most likely to help. The findings are early-stage and in rats, so clinical studies would need to follow.”
The Future of Personalized Treatments in Heart Disorders
The researchers are now planning studies to link these structural changes to how the heart actually behaves at rest and during exercise. They will then look for the same left–right pattern in other animal models and in people using non-invasive markers.
This will help ascertain whether targeting one side of the nerve cluster could make treatments such as stellate nerve blocks or denervation more effective for arrhythmias, stress induced ‘broken heart’ syndrome, and difficult-to-treat angina.
Dr. Coppi added: “Understanding these left-right differences could help us personalise treatments for heart rhythm disorders and angina. Our next step is to test how these structural changes map onto function and whether similar patterns appear in larger animals and humans.”
Reference:
- Asymmetric neuroplasticity in stellate ganglia: Unveiling side-specific adaptations to aerobic exercise - (https://www.autonomicneuroscience.com/article/S1566-0702(25)00100-6/abstract)
Source-Eurekalert