Snoring and Heart Disease – Is Snoring Bad for Your Heart?

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.

How Snoring Affects Your Heart and Increases Heart Disease Risk

Sleep apnea related snoring increases your risk for heart ailments. The hypopneas lead to poor blood oxygen levels and that raises stress hormones, causing a spike in the blood pressure leading to strain on the heart. With time, it leads to hypertension, arrythmias, and risk of stroke. Additionally, sleep deprivation and disruptions increase insulin resistance and inflammation in the body. That increases the heart disease risks. However, without medical intervention, diagnosis and treatment, chronic snoring can lead to enhancement of symptoms of cardiovascular diseases. CPAP therapy, weight loss and lifestyle changes coupled with medical evaluation can help.

Best Treatments for Snoring and Sleep Apnea to Protect Your Heart

Untreated sleep apnea and snoring enhances the risk of developing hypertension, heart disease and stroke. One of the most effective methods to treat sleep apnea and related snoring is with the use of CPAP therapy. The pressurized air ensures that proper oxygen levels are maintained in the body while it keeps the airways open even when asleep.

Additionally, oral devices such as the Mandibular advancement devices help to put the jaw in the right position so that breathing is not obstructed. You might opt for lifestyle changes such as losing excess weight, sleeping on your side and avoiding alcohol to ensure that snoring is reduced.

What Are the Symptoms of Sleep Apnea-Related Heart Disease?

Sleep apnea is a common reason that increases the risk of developing heart diseases. That is because there is constant breathing pauses and fragmented sleep, which lowers the oxygen levels in the blood. It puts a massive stress on the heart, causing hypertension, angina, arrythmias and breathing distress when asleep. Additionally, sleep apnea leads to disrupted sleep which in turn, leads to daytime fatigue, dizziness and inflammation in the body. In severe cases, edema or swelling in the legs, heightened level of risk for stroke or heart attack, are possible. If sleep apnea is left untreated, the heart disease worsens over time.

How to Reduce Snoring Naturally and Improve Heart Health

There are many ways to ensure that your risk of developing heart ailments is reduced naturally. The fact is that snoring can strain the heart due to low blood oxygen levels as breathing pauses for a few seconds multiple times at due to sleep apnea. To stop snoring naturally, here are some tips:

• Maintain proper weight- Fat layers around the throat can put pressure around the throat and obstruct the airway.
• Side-sleeping – By sleeping on your side, the tongue does not fall back into the throat
• Hydration is important: It is essential to take adequate fluid intake so that there is less mucus build-up and throat tissues don’t dry up
• Use anti-snoring devices – nasal sprays, strips and saline drops work to reduce nasal congestion

The Link Between Snoring and Stroke: What You Need to Know

The risk of stroke and obstructive sleep apnea are closely linked. Obstructive Sleep Apnea leads to breathing interruptions of few seconds all through the night. That leads to high blood pressure, oxygen deprivation and nasal inflammation, which are major risk factors. Loud and heavy snoring is an indication of restricted airflow that strains the heart, with time.

Additionally, obstructive sleep apnea leads to atherosclerosis wherein the arteries narrow and increases the risk of stroke. If sleep apnea is not treated, snoring can lead to arrythmias and reduced oxygen levels in the blood.  Early diagnosis and treatment are important.

The Best Sleep Positions to Stop Snoring and Protect Your Heart

It is not advised to sleep on your back if you snore regularly as the right sleeping position is important. Sleeping on your back can worsen your snoring as it allows the tongue to fall back into the throat, creating a blockage. You can elevate your head by using a wedge pillow to minimize obstruction.

Fetal position and side-sleeping on the left is the best, as it improves blood circulation, prevents airway obstruction, benefits heart circulation and reduces acid reflux. Using body pillow will help maintain the posture.  It helps you breathe better, reduces snoring and improves heart health

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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FAQs

How does snoring affect heart health over time?

With frequent pauses in breathing at night due to sleep apnea and snoring leads to low oxygen levels in the blood. That causes strain on the heart, increasing the blood pressure, causes oxygen deprivation and raises risk of stroke and arrythmia over time.

What is the link between snoring and heart attacks?

Loud and heavy snoring leads to low oxygen levels in the blood especially if the underlying cause is sleep apnea. That creates a pressure on the heart and leads to hypertension. That is one of the key reasons for developing cardiovascular disease and risk of stroke and heart attack increases.

Can treating snoring reduce the risk of heart disease?

It is true that if the snoring is due to sleep apnea and that is treated, it will reduce the risk of heart disease. Usually, sleep apnea related snoring leads to breathing pauses all through the night. That increases blood pressure and increases the risk of heart disease.

Is snoring a symptom of an underlying heart condition?

Yes, snoring can be a symptom of an underlying heart issue if it is due to sleep apnea. Medical evaluation is important if the snoring is heavy, loud and there are breathing pauses multiple times a night. Sleep apnea increases the risk of heart attacks, high blood pressure and arrythmias.

What medical tests can diagnose heart-related snoring issues?

There are many tests that can evaluate and diagnose heart-related snoring issues. Echocardiograms and electrocardiograms (ECG) are done to check the functioning of the heart while blood tests indicate the current heart health issues. You might be asked to do a home sleep apnea test (HSAT) to evaluate sleep apnea, which puts you at risk of heart disease.