Sleep issues can lead to heart conditions

This article discusses how snoring and other sleep issues can lead to heart conditions.

Adequate amount of quality sleep is very essential to maintain good health, replenish energy, and restore the mind. It plays a vital role in maintaining a healthy balance of hormones, strengthening the immune system, sustaining proper brain function, and supporting healthy growth and development. Sleep-related disorders are one of the most commonly encountered problems today and can immensely affect your physical and mental health, cognitive capacity, productivity, quality of life, and safety.

Research shows that sleep disorders and heart disease are closely linked and one condition can lead to the other. Your heart, being only a little larger than a fist, works hard to pump almost 2,000 gallons of blood each day. Sleep provides your heart a chance to slow down, and your breathing and blood pressure drop to levels lower than what occurs while you are awake. Lack of sleep can lead to several heart-related conditions which include:

High blood pressure

Chest pain

Hardening of arteries (atherosclerosis or cholesterol-clogged arteries)

Heart attack

Stroke

Coronary heart disease

Congestive heart failure

Congenital heart defects

Studies have shown that habitual loud snorers are at a considerably higher risk of developing heart disease and stroke as compared to people who never or rarely snore. As you sleep, the soft tissue at the back of your head and neck relaxes and gradually narrows the airways, causing you to snore. Certain factors such as obesity, smoking, consumption of alcohol, allergic reactions, and muscle relaxing antidepressants and sedatives are known to increase the risk of persistent snoring. If not treated, snoring usually gets worse over time, causing the muscles to get weaker and making it harder to keep the airways open.

Patients with sleep disorders are often sleepy during the day and have reduced ability to concentrate, remember, or think, and are at a higher risk of falling asleep while driving or working. Studies have shown that proper treatment of sleep apnea greatly reduces your risk of developing heart-related conditions and, in addition, improves pre-existing cardiac disorders. Medical treatment for sleep disorders may involve the following:

• Weight loss if you are overweight.
• Avoiding drugs/habits that increase the risk of sleep apnea such as sleeping pills, sedatives, alcohol, and tobacco smoking.
• Using Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP) -- a slightly pressurized mask is fit over the nose or over the nose and mouth to hold the airway open and allow the patient to sleep normally.
• Surgery on the upper airway (if your doctor thinks you are a candidate for surgery) -- enlarging the air passage by removing the uvula and some of the surrounding tissue.
• Wearing a dental device or mouth guard that is designed to move the lower jaw slightly down and outwards helps keep the airway open during sleep.
• Getting a polysomnogram -- a sleep study that is usually done overnight in a sleep center. It electronically transmits and records your brain waves, heart rate, breathing patterns, oxygen levels in the blood, your eye and limb movements, and muscle tension as you sleep. A sleep specialist analyzes the quality of your sleep and determines whether or not you have a sleep order.

Sleep disorders are very common and are often ignored by patients. You should talk to your doctor about your risk of having a sleep disorder and get regular medical check-ups. A timely diagnosis and early medical treatment can help you recover from your sleep disorder and reduce the risk of other serious health issues. It is important to remember that good quality sleep is more of a necessity than a luxury for better cardiovascular and overall health.

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