Does snoring cause heart attack? Well, read the article thoroughly to get a clear conception between snoring and different heart diseases.
Normal snoring doesn’t put any risk to the heart. However, snoring can be a symptom of obstructive sleep apnea, which is a serious sleep condition. If you are suffering from sleep apnea, there will be discontinuities in your breathing while you are sleeping. The discontinuities can last for 10 to 20 seconds. Though we are now aware of these discontinuities, sleep apnea can lead to various serious health issues such as diabetes, hypertension, obesity, heart attack, various types of cardiovascular problems as well as strokes.
According to a report of the Daily Express, “Heavy snorers are six times more likely to suffer a heart attack while asleep”. Various studies till now have found that the risk of different types of heart diseases are increased due to the nerve, high blood pressure as well as hormonal changes that are triggered by snoring. It has been reported multiple times that people with obstructive sleep apnea are most likely to go through this issue. The study concluded by saying that, snoring should be treated immediately.
As I have said earlier, people that are suffering from sleep apnea suffer from the discontinuity of breathing for up to 10 to 20 seconds. This incident can occur even a hundred times each night. Snoring doesn’t necessarily mean you are suffering from sleep apnea. However, if you are a snorer, you should be aware of this problem.
How Snoring And Heart Diseases Are Related?
To find out how snoring and heart diseases are related, first we’ll have to know the root cause of snoring. The root cause of snoring is a partial or complete blockage of nasal airways which restricts airflow. As the airflow gets restricted with friction, it causes snoring. This blockage can occur due to many factors. Mainly people that are obese, sleep on their back and lead an irresponsible lifestyle suffer from snoring.
Our brain has some chemicals that trigger breathing. In the case of some people, these chemicals fail to work when they snore. As a result, the oxygen level in the body drives down dramatically which leads to various health issues causing a rush of adrenaline, cortisone as well as other hormones.
These spike of hormones result in different types of heart issues, high blood pressure and can trigger a heart attack or heart failure. In the worst cases, sudden death can also happen. Especially people suffering from obstructive sleep apnea are highly prone to this issue.
A recent study in 2013 at Detroit’s Henry Ford Hospital have found that one of the biggest contributors to heart attack or stroke is snoring. In some people, snoring can be a symptom of carotid arterial damage, which is the state that impacts the oxygen level that reaches the brain.
In Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, researchers have found that there is a direct correlation between snoring/sleep apnea and different types of cardiovascular diseases including heart attack.
Symptoms of Obstructive Sleep Apnea
These are the most common symptoms of obstructive sleep apnea:
- Being tired throughout the whole day
- Constantly in need of a nap
- Always sleepy or drowsy
- Snoring
- Sudden wake up from sleep with choking or gasping
- Headache
- Waking up from sleep with a dry or sore throat
- Lack of concentration
- Suffering from acid reflux
- Feeling dull in the morning etc.
People Who Are Likely To Have Sleep Apnea
- Obese people
- People suffering from diabetes
- Regular consumer of alcohol or pills
- Normally people between 50s and 60s
- People that suffered cognitive heart failure
- In general, men more than women
What To Do?
It is not a myth anymore, today it has become a scientific fact that snoring can lead to various types of heart diseases including heart attack. The statement is more applicable to people with obstructive sleep apnea. That’s why it is highly recommended to treat your snoring right away.
There are multiple ways you can prevent snoring. If you are suffering from sleep apnea, then using a CPAP machine may help you the most. However, you must consult with a specialist before using any.
For regular snorers, there are much lighter ways to prevent snoring. In fact, I’ve written a whole article talking about natural home remedies to stop snoring.
But for me, natural remedies are not the way to go. They take a lot of time to produce any significant result. I am more of a ‘want to get a quick result’ type of person.
If you are like me and want to get rid of snoring right away, I’ll highly recommend something that worked for me and has fixed things permanently.
More than 80,000 people (including me) have used this and got positive results.
Lastly…
Snoring should not be taken lightly. It can be an underlying problem to many more serious health issues. So, if you are suffering from snoring, get yourself diagnosed and treated immediately before it is too late.
