Heart disease is the leading cause of death for women in the United States, and the risk of developing heart disease increases as women reach menopause. Getty Images
Middle-aged women who have persistent insomnia or get very little sleep each night may be at higher risk for heart disease, according to a new study presented at the Menopause Society Conference in Philadelphia in September.
Heart disease is the leading cause of death for women in the United States, and the risk of developing heart disease increases as women reach menopause. Researchers wanted to investigate whether sleep problems, a common complaint among menopausal women, could be behind increased cardiovascular risk.
How was the study conducted?
A research team from the University of Pittsburgh School of Public Health evaluated data from SWAN, a longitudinal study of 3,300 middle-aged women from five different racial and ethnic groups across the United States.
The researchers asked participants whether they had had trouble falling asleep, woke up in the middle of the night, or woke up earlier than expected in the past month – typical symptoms of insomnia. A woman was considered to have insomnia if she reported these problems 3 to 4 times per week. Participants were also categorized as short sleepers (5 hours), moderate sleepers (6 hours), or long sleepers (7 hours).
The researchers also assessed cardiovascular disease events, including heart attack, stroke, bypass surgery, heart failure, and heart disease-related deaths.
Sleep and heart disease risk
Rebecca Thurston, professor of psychiatry at the University of Pittsburgh School of Public Health and director of the Women’s Biobehavioral Health Research Institute, says, “Women with persistent insomnia are less likely to suffer from cardiovascular disease after midlife than women who had few symptoms of insomnia.” “The risk of disease was significantly higher.”
Thurston said the risk between the two groups was nearly double, and even after accounting for age, race, ethnicity, education and other cardiovascular disease risk factors, the increased risk remained significant at 1.7 times. was.
When only sleep duration data were analyzed, women with short sleep durations had a slightly increased risk of cardiovascular disease compared with those with moderate or longer sleep durations, but overall data showed that both People with persistent insomnia and short sleep duration had the highest risk of heart disease.
“Middle-aged women with persistent insomnia symptoms, alone or in combination with short sleep duration, had significantly lower cardiovascular “The risk of disease events increased by 70 to 75 percent,” Dr. Thurston said. He said. “These findings highlight the importance of considering sleep when assessing cardiovascular disease risk in women.”
Sleep is important for middle-aged and older women
Midlife is the period immediately preceding the onset of clinical cardiovascular disease events in women. “This is a critical time for cardiovascular disease prevention,” Thurston said. She encouraged middle-aged women and their doctors to discuss their sleep patterns and make the necessary behavioral changes to reduce their risk of heart disease.
The American Heart Association has previously linked the menopausal transition to heart disease. Their Life’s Essential 8 program helps minimize risk.
- Eat nutritious foods: Choose whole foods, plenty of fruits and vegetables, lean proteins, nuts and seeds, and use non-tropical oils like olive and canola.
- Stay active: Adults should do 2 1/2 hours of moderate or 75 minutes of vigorous physical activity each week.
- Quit smoking: Cigarettes, e-cigarettes, and e-cigarette use are the leading causes of preventable death in the United States, including about one-third of deaths from heart disease.
- Get quality sleep: Most adults need 7 to 9 hours of sleep a night. Adequate sleep promotes healing, improves brain function, and reduces the risk of chronic disease.
- Weight management: There are many benefits to achieving and maintaining a healthy weight. Although the AHA recommends using BMI as a guide, the American Medical Association recently stated that BMI measures body fat in multiple groups because it does not take into account race/ethnicity, sex, sex, or gender. We have adopted a new policy of using an “imperfect method” to age range.
- Cholesterol management: High levels of non-HDL cholesterol, or “bad” cholesterol, can lead to heart disease. AHA recommends discussing monitoring of non-HDL cholesterol as the preferred number to monitor rather than total cholesterol, as non-HDL cholesterol can be measured without prior fasting and is reliably calculated among all individuals. is suggesting.
- Manage your blood sugar levels: High blood sugar levels can damage your heart, kidneys, eyes, and nerves.
- Manage your blood pressure: Keeping your blood pressure within an acceptable range will help you stay healthy longer. Levels below 120/80 mm Hg are optimal. Hypertension is defined as 130-139 mmHg.
