Do you snore at night? Have you been waking up frequently gasping and choking due to the inability to breathe? Well, the fact is that while snoring is often an unpleasant experience for the individual sleeping beside the snorer, chronic and frequent snoring can be a sign of a more serious condition known as obstructive sleep apnea or OSA.

This can lead to health-threatening conditions such as heart attack, hypertension (high blood pressure), and other cardiovascular problems. When a person has OSA, they may stop breathing for up to 20 seconds or longer during sleep. Furthermore, this can occur 3 or 4 times a night up to hundreds of times.

The Correlation between Snoring and Heart Disease

One of the more common sleep apnea issues that clinicians and sleep specialists have researched is an answer to the question “Is snoring bad for your heart?” Studies have shown that, if left untreated, chronic snoring and snoring related to OSA can have an adverse effect on heart health and make a person more likely to develop heart disease. Interestingly enough, many individuals are unaware of their snoring unless someone such as their partner brings it to their attention.

Research indicates that OSA when left untreated increases the risk of cardiovascular mortality by up to 5 times when it was compared to people that didn’t have that condition. As per a study published in the New England Journal of Medicine, it was seen that the risk of developing cardiovascular disease was 2.86 times higher in people with severe OSA, as compared to those without sleep apnea.

Although snoring can affect men, women, and even young children, the one common characteristic is how it can impair your sleep quality. The bottom line is that OSA can elevate one’s risk of developing different cardiovascular issues such as:

  • atrial fibrillation

  • coronary artery disease

  • heart failure

  • hypertension

  • stroke

So, is snoring bad for your heart? We feel it’s safe to assume that it is based on the above information. In fact, Harvard Medical School conducted a 3-decade study of 9,000 individuals that analyzed their CVD risk factors and found that chronic snorers were up to 3 times more likely to develop cardiovascular issues than non-snorers. While the reasons behind this correlation are still unclear, many experts agree that it may be related to breathing pattern disruptions attributed to obstructions in the airway.

Food for Thought

It’s important to understand that not every individual who snores has sleep apnea or is going to develop cardiovascular problems. However, you should focus on doing whatever you can to reduce your risk of developing any heart-related issues. Changing certain lifestyle habits such as cutting back on the consumption of foods with higher fat content or drinking too much alcohol is a good way to reduce those risk factors.

Additionally, it is well-documented that there is a strong relationship between OSA and stroke. A study in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine found that OSA increases the risk of stroke by 2 to 3 times. Thus, apart from heart diseases, if you suffer with sleep apnea, you are at risk of other fatal diseases such as strokes.

Furthermore, if you find that you’re having considerable difficulty sleeping because of your partner’s snoring, they should probably visit their doctor as this may be indicative of a more serious underlying problem or sleeping disorder such as OSA. The good news is that obstructive sleep apnea and the snoring that is often attributed to it can be treated in several ways.

As more and more studies attempt to answer the question “is snoring bad for your heart?”, we are seeing the potential risks involving snoring and heart disease. Along with what we already know about snoring, a Henry Ford Hospital research team found that chronic snorers have an elevated risk of developing abnormal or thicker carotid arteries. These are the blood vessels that link your heart to your brain.

Conclusion

While additional research is needed concerning snoring and heart disease, there does appear to be a correlation between the two. Thus, it’s important if your partner snores or has told you that you snore, that steps are taken to reduce the potential risks involved. For the temporary relief from chronic loud snoring, Asonor Anti-snoring Spray and Snoring Solution has been clinically proven to help alleviate snoring episodes so you can get better quality sleep and avoid potential health risks in the future.

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