Chronic lack of sleep puts women’s cardiovascular health at risk by increasing the risk of heart attack, stroke or heart failure by up to 75%.
- Sleep disorders increase women’s cardiovascular risks.
- Women who experience insomnia and sleep an average of less than 5 hours per night have a 75% increased risk of cardiac events.
- For researchers, it is essential to treat insomnia in middle-aged women to reduce their risks.
Insomnia, waking up at night, difficulty falling asleep… Up to 50% of women between 40 and 50 have sleep problems. And this is not without consequences on their hearts, as confirmed by a study carried out by researchers at the University of Pittsburgh published in the journal Traffic of the American Heart Association. Women who sleep less than five hours a night see their cardiovascular risk explode.
Cardiovascular diseases: lack of sleep impacts women’s hearts
Wishing to understand how insomnia symptoms and sleep duration in midlife were linked to cardiovascular disorders, scientists studied the records of 2,517 women aged 42 to 52 whose sleep was assessed up to 16 times on 22 years old.
During each visit, participants reported the frequency of sleep problems over the previous two weeks as well as cardiovascular events encountered (heart attacks, strokes, heart failure, etc.). During the experiment, volunteers also reported their typical daily sleep duration 4 times over the previous month.
The analysis shows that frequent insomnia symptoms – experienced by almost a quarter of the women studied over the two decades – were associated with a 70% increase in the risk of a cardiovascular disease event. Additionally, participants suffering from persistent insomnia (more than three times a week) and sleeping less than five hours per night faced greater danger. They had a 75% increased risk of having a stroke, heart attack, heart failure or developing coronary heart disease compared to those sleeping more than six hours.
These associations were observed even after taking into account demographic factors and risk factors for cardiovascular pathologies.
Cardiovascular risk in women: insomnia must be treated
Faced with these data, the team concludes that “Insomnia symptoms, when they persist beyond midlife or occur during short sleep, are associated with a higher risk of cardiovascular disease in women.”
Dr. Rebecca Thurston of the University of Pittsburgh, corresponding author of the study adds in a communicated : “These findings highlight both the prevalence of insufficient sleep in midlife among women and the impact of insomnia on women’s cardiovascular health during midlife.” For her, it is essential for patients’ hearts to treat insomnia.
