Tag Archives: heart

Too much or too little sleep can be bad for your heart

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Getting too little sleep — or even too much — appears to spell trouble for the heart. New data reveal that adults who get less than six hours of sleep a night are at significantly greater risk of stroke, heart attack and congestive heart failure.

Even those who reportedly sleep more than eight hours a night have a higher prevalence of heart problems, namely chest pain (angina) and coronary artery disease, a narrowing of the blood vessels that supply blood and oxygen to the heart, according to research findings recently released.

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Sleep apnea treatment may protect against heart failure

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A nightly breathing treatment may do more than help people with obstructive sleep apnea get a good night’s rest — it may also help prevent heart failure.

In a study published in the March 20, 2012 issue of , a journal of the American Heart Association, researchers in the U.K. discovered that moderate to severe obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) can cause changes in the heart’s shape and function, similar to the effects of hypertension. These changes include increased mass, thickening of the heart wall and reduced pumping ability.

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Who should have surgery for sleep apnea?

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Answering the question: Who should have surgery for sleep apnea?

Even as more and more people in the United States are diagnosed with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), there remains a disconnect as to who can benefit from corrective surgery. Leading experts in the field of sleep medicine will attempt to answer the question of who could benefit from surgery, during a moderated discussion at the 2008 -Head and Neck Surgery Foundation (AAO-HNSF) Annual Meeting & OTO EXPO, in Chicago, IL.

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People with sleep apnea at risk for cardiac stress during flights

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People with severe obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) on commercial airline flights may have a greater risk of adverse events from cardiac stress than healthy people, according to research to be presented at the ’s in Toronto.

The researchers compared oxygen levels and ventilation of healthy people and people with severe OSA during simulated flight conditions replicating the oxygen and pressure levels of typical commercial flights that have "cabin altitudes" ranging from 6,000 feet and 8,000 feet, the maximum allowed, even if the airplane is flying at 30,000 feet. This is the first study to use these measurements to assess fitness to fly without supplemental oxygen.

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