A new study shows sleep problems may play a role in the development of heart failure. A new study examined the relationship between healthy sleep patterns and heart failure. Incidence of heart failure was collected and the number of cases was recorded in a median follow-up of 10 years.
Sleep quality as well as overall sleep patterns were analyzed. Sleep quality included sleep duration, insomnia, and snoring, whether the participant was an early bird or night owl and if they had any daytime sleepiness (unintentionally doze off, fall asleep during the daytime). Then a healthy sleep score was created based on the scoring of these five sleep behaviours. The findings emphasize the importance of improving overall sleep patterns to help prevent heart failure.
Sleep behaviours were collected from participants through questionnaires. Sleep duration was defined into three categories: short (less than 7 hours a day), recommended (7 to 8 hours a day), and prolonged (9 hours or more a day).
Diabetes, hypertension, medication use, genetic variations, and other covariates were adjusted after that. The result corresponded to a 42% reduction in the risk of heart failure in participants with the healthiest sleep pattern compared to people with an unhealthy sleep pattern.
The risk of heart failure was independently found to be associated as 8% lower in early risers, 12% lower in those who slept 7 to 8 hours daily, 17% lower in those who did not have frequent insomnia; and 34% lower in those reporting no daytime sleepiness.
Some of the drawbacks of this study include that the sleep behaviours were self-reported by the participants, and the information on changes in sleep behaviours during follow-up was not available. Other unmeasured or unknown adjustments may have also influenced the findings. The study’s strengths include its originality, novelty, study design (prospective), and large sample size.
References:https://newsroom.heart.org/
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