New Delhi, Jan 10 || Heart surgery that begins late in the morning may raise the risk of cardiovascular deaths when compared to other times of the day, according to a study.
Researchers at The University of Manchester, UK, suggested that integrating body clock biology into the planning of heart surgery could support a more personalised, precision medicine approach, as some people’s body clock makes them early birds and others make them night owls.
The data, based on the analysis of national datasets comprising over 24,000 patients in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland, showed late-morning surgery was linked to an 18 per cent higher risk of death -- almost one fifth -- from heart-related causes compared with early-morning surgery.
And the most common surgical start time was 07:00 am to 09:59 am -- accounting for 47 per cent of all surgeries.
Though complication rates and readmissions were unaffected by the time of day, the findings still pose questions about the best time to schedule heart surgery.