Poor sleep, ischaemic heart disease and stroke

A new Japanese study of almost 13,000 people presented at The European Society of Cardiology has linked poor sleep with the risk of ischaemic heart disease and stroke.  Previous studies have linked poor sleep with inflammatory diseases, this latest study investigated the association between poor sleep/sleep disturbances and cardiovascular disease.  The researchers defined poor sleep as sleep that is too short or too long, difficulty in falling asleep or maintaining sleep. 

Data was adjusted for age, gender, body mass, smoking, alcohol, hypertension, diabetes and dyslipidemia (abnormal amounts of lipids in the blood).  Sleep habits were assessed with the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index which assesses subjective poor sleep quality, long sleep latency, short sleep duration, low sleep efficiency, difficulty in maintaining sleep, use of sleeping pills and daytime dysfunction. 

Poor sleep occurred in 52%, 48% and 37% of individuals with ischaemic heart disease, stroke and no cardiovascular disease, respectively.

About:  The European Society of Cardiology brings together health care professionals from more than 140 countries.