The role of environmental signals in the expression of rhythmic cardiac proteins and their influence on cardiac pathologies.

We know that numerous proteins expressed in the heart are influenced by environmental signals (such as light and diet), which cause either an increase or decrease in their expression. Cardiovascular health is sensitive to diet composition (macronutrient content), as well as the percentage of energy, frequency and regularity of meal intake during the 24-hour cycle, and the fasting period. Furthermore, light is an important synchronizer of the circadian clock and, in turn, of several physiological processes, among them cardiovascular physiology. In this chapter, we address the effects of these environmental cues and the known mechanisms that lead to this variation in protein expression in the heart, as well as cardiac function.