Poor Sleep Increases Risk of Heart Disease, Stroke

A new study has found that poor sleep quality, long sleep latency, low sleep efficiency, and the use of sleeping pills are associated with ischemic heart disease and stroke, while difficulty maintaining sleep, short sleep duration, and daytime dysfunction are associated only with ischemic heart disease.

Findings were presented by Dr Nobuo Sasaki on August 29, 2017, at the European Society of Cardiology Congress in Barcelona, Spain.
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It is well known that poor sleep is associated with cardiovascular (CV) diseases like ischemic heart disease and stroke. However, little data exists about which types of sleep disturbances affect this risk the most.

In order to further explore the factors that impact this risk, Dr Sasaki and colleagues assessed 12,876 residents of Hiroshima, Japan, who were scheduled for an annual health check-up. Of these patients, 773 had a history of ischemic heart disease in the form of myocardial infarction (MI) or angina, 560 had a history of stroke in the form of intracranial hemorrhagic and/or cerebral infarction, and 11,543 had no history of CV disease.

The Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) was used to assess self-reported sleep habits. The questionnaire evaluated 7 components of sleep habits: subjective poor sleep quality, long sleep latency, short sleep duration, low sleep efficiency, difficulty maintaining sleep, the use of sleeping pills, and daytime dysfunction.

Results indicated that 52% of patients with ischemic heart disease had poor sleep, compared with 48% of patients with a history of stroke and 37% of patients with no CV disease.

Ultimately, the researchers found that poor sleep was significantly associated with ischemic heart disease and stroke. The incidence of sleep disturbances was found to be 1.5 times higher in patients with a history of ischemic heart disease or stroke vs those with no history of CV disease. Specifically, subjective poor sleep quality, long sleep latency, low sleep efficiency, and the use of sleeping pills were significantly associated with ischemic heart disease and stroke, while difficulty maintaining sleep, short sleep duration, and daytime dysfunction were associated only with ischemic heart disease.

“Our results support the hypothesis that sleep deterioration may lead to cardiovascular disease,” the researchers concluded. “Poor sleep in patients with ischemic heart disease may be characterized by shorter sleep and brief moments of waking up.”

—Christina Vogt

Reference:

Poor sleep is associated with ischaemic heart disease and stroke [press release]. Barcelona, Spain: European Society of Cardiology; August 28-30, 2017. https://www.escardio.org/The-ESC/Press-Office/Press-releases/Poor-sleep-is-associated-with-ischaemic-heart-disease-and-stroke. Accessed August 29, 2017.