Both snoring and obstructive sleep apnea could lead to
earlier impairment of cardiac function in women, according to a new study.
A recent
study unlocks the health issues linked to snoring.
"Snoring" refers to a sleeping pattern in which a
person breathes while emitting a snorting or grunting sound.
The National Sleep Foundation suggest that 90 million people
in the United States snore.
Snoring might become more dangerous as people age, and it
can also lead to heart disease.
There are different types of sleep apnea, but the most
common is called obstructive sleep apnea(OSA). At least 18 million U.S.
adults have sleep apnea.
This condition affects breathing patterns while sleeping,
causing a person to stop breathing and start again repeatedly. About half of
people who snore loudly have OSA.
When OSA occurs, the muscles in the throat that are
responsible for keeping the airway open actually prevent the flow of air.
According to a new study presented
recently at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America —
held in Chicago, IL — snoring and OSA may lead to earlier impairment of cardiac
function in women than in men.
Sleep apnea and heart disease?
It is unclear whether or not sleep apnea directly causes
heart disease, but some specialists believe that people with sleep apnea
are at risk of
developing hypertension, or high blood pressure.
Many people who have sleep apnea also have co-existing
diseases. This is one of the reasons why it is harder to establish a direct
link between sleep apnea and heart disease.
According to the American Heart Association (AHA),
some people living with sleep apnea and high blood pressure who received
treatment for sleep apnea also saw their blood
pressure drop. Such findings show a possible link between
hypertension and sleep apnea.
OSA is also associated with
obesity, which is a risk factor for heart disease.
Obesity contributes
to sleep apnea, and the sleep deprivation that sleep apnea causes can give rise
to further obesity, in the long-term. As a person gains more weight, the throat
muscles that keep the airway open relax, and sleep apnea becomes more serious.
Women who snore may be at greater
risk
The researchers analyzed data associated with cardiac
parameters in relation to diagnosed OSA and self-reported snoring using data
from the UK Biobank.
The UK Biobank is an international health resource, open to
researchers, that aims to improve the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of
diseases.
The data were of 4,877 participants who had received a
cardiac MRI scan.
The scientists divided them into three groups: those with OSA, those with
self-reported snoring, and those with neither.
When the researchers compared the snoring group with the group
without sleep disorders, they found a striking difference in the left
ventricular mass in women compared with men.
Increased left ventricular mass
means that the heart needs to work harder to fulfil the body's needs.
These patterns in people who self-reportedly snore may be an
indication of undiagnosed OSA.
"We
found that the cardiac parameters in women appear to be more easily affected by
the disease and that women who snore or have OSA might be at greater risk for
cardiac involvement."
Researcher Dr. Adrian
Curta
OSA may be vastly underdiagnosed
The researchers also found that the number of diagnosed OSA
cases in the study was extremely low, suggesting that OSA may be underdiagnosed
across the board.
Dr. Curta, a radiology resident
at Munich University Hospital in Germany, urges people who snore to get
screened for OSA and those with OSA to seek treatment.
"I would encourage people who
snore to ask their partner to observe them and look for phases during sleep
when they stop breathing for a short while and then gasp for air," says
Dr. Curta.
He continues, "If unsure, they can spend the night at a
sleep lab where breathing is constantly monitored during sleep and even slight
alterations can be recorded."
The team now hopes to conduct more research to fully
understand the sex differences linked to snoring and OSA.
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