Keeping the heart healthy as we age is one of the biggest challenges in modern medicine. Heart disease remains a leading cause of illness and death worldwide, especially among older adults.
While lifestyle choices such as diet, exercise, and stress management are known to affect heart health, new research suggests that another powerful factor plays a key role in keeping the heart youthful: the vagus nerve.
A new study coordinated by the Sant’Anna School of Advanced Studies in Pisa has revealed that strong and balanced connections between the vagus nerve and the heart can slow down the aging process of heart tissue.
The findings were published in the journal Science Translational Medicine and point to the right side of the cardiac vagus nerve as especially important for long-term heart protection.
The vagus nerve is one of the main nerves connecting the brain to vital organs, including the heart. It helps regulate many automatic body functions such as heart rate, digestion, and inflammation.
For many years, scientists believed that the main benefit of the vagus nerve for the heart was its ability to slow the heart rate. This new research shows that its role goes much deeper.
The researchers found that maintaining vagus nerve connections to the heart on both sides helps protect heart muscle cells from aging-related damage.
Most importantly, the right cardiac vagus nerve appears to play a central role in preserving the strength and function of the heart muscle, even when heart rate remains unchanged. This means the nerve supports heart health in ways that go beyond simple rhythm control.
The study was the result of close collaboration between experts in medicine, biology, and bioengineering. It was led by the Translational Critical Care Unit at the Interdisciplinary Research Center Health Science, under the guidance of Professor Vincenzo Lionetti.
The research combined experimental heart studies with advanced bioengineering techniques to better understand how nerve connections influence heart aging.
One of the key discoveries was what happens when the vagus nerve connection to the heart is lost. According to Professor Lionetti, when this connection is damaged or interrupted, the heart begins to age more quickly. The heart muscle becomes weaker, less efficient, and more prone to harmful structural changes over time.
Encouragingly, the study also showed that the heart does not need a fully restored nerve connection to benefit. Even partial recovery of the right vagus nerve connection was enough to slow harmful remodeling of the heart and preserve its ability to contract effectively.
This finding suggests that even modest improvements in nerve signaling could have meaningful long-term benefits for heart health.
Bioengineering played a crucial role in making these discoveries possible. Researchers from the Biorobotics Institute developed a special bioabsorbable nerve conduit. This tiny implant is designed to guide and support the natural regrowth of the vagus nerve toward the heart. Over time, the conduit safely dissolves in the body after helping the nerve reconnect.
This innovative tool allowed scientists to study how nerve regeneration affects heart aging and function. By supporting the spontaneous healing of the nerve, the researchers were able to observe how restored signaling improved heart health at the cellular and structural level.
The research was carried out entirely in Pisa and supported by European funding through the Future and Emerging Technologies program as part of the NeuHeart project. Additional support came from national research funds linked to the Tuscany Health Ecosystem.
The study also involved a wide international network of universities and research institutions, highlighting the global interest in understanding heart aging.
The implications of these findings are far-reaching. The researchers suggest that restoring vagus nerve connections during heart surgery or transplant procedures could become a new strategy for protecting the heart in the long term.
Instead of waiting to treat complications caused by premature heart aging, doctors may one day focus on preventing them by preserving or restoring nerve signaling early on.
Professor Lionetti explained that this approach could shift medical practice toward prevention rather than damage control. By supporting the heart’s natural protective nerve pathways, future treatments may help patients maintain stronger and healthier hearts for many years.
While more research is needed before these findings can be applied directly to patients, this study opens an exciting new direction in heart medicine. It highlights the importance of the nervous system in heart health and suggests that keeping the heart connected to the brain may be one of the most powerful ways to slow cardiac aging.
If you care about heart health, please read studies about top foods to love for a stronger heart, and why oranges may help fight obesity, diabetes, and heart disease.
For more health information, please see recent studies about simple guide to a 7-day diabetes meal plan, and why you should add black beans to your plate.
Copyright © 2026 Knowridge Science Report. All rights reserved.
