Hibernation-Driven Cardiovascular Adaptation: Unraveling Mammalian Survival Strategies

Hibernation is a unique survival strategy employed by certain mammals to endure cold, food-scarce winter conditions. During hibernation, animals reduce energy expenditure through physiological adjustments, including decreased body temperature, metabolic rate, heart rate, and respiratory frequency, thereby ensuring survival in hostile environments. Despite these profound physiological fluctuations, their cardiovascular system shows no apparent pathological damage. To explore the protective mechanisms that maintain cardiovascular homeostasis and confer resistance to injury during hibernation, this review systematically summarizes multifaceted adaptive regulatory strategies, encompassing nervous system regulation, coordinated endocrine modulation, cardiovascular autoregulatory adaptations, as well as additional adaptive processes involving telomeres and nitric oxide. Furthermore, we evaluate the translational potential of these protective mechanisms in antiarrhythmic therapy, thrombosis prevention, organ preservation, and space medicine, aiming to provide novel perspectives and a theoretical foundation for future research. Nevertheless, current investigations still face challenges related to species differences and the limited generalizability of cross-species findings. Future studies should focus on systematically comparing distinct hibernation phenotypes while integrating multidisciplinary approaches to further elucidate the underlying protective mechanisms.