Snoring linked to increased stroke risk


Snoring linked to increased stroke risk
Pic Courtesy: www.freedigitalphotos.net
Zee Media Bureau/Liji Varghese
New Delhi: People who snore heavy are twice as likely to suffer a stroke as those who sleep peacefully, a new study shows. 
The researchers who observed more than 25,000 people during the study also found that heavy snorers where 80 percent more likely to experience heart problems.
Around three million people suffer with the snoring condition called sleep apnea, with one in four men and one in ten women affected.
Sleep apnea is a sleep disorder in which the breathing is briefly interrupted or becomes shallow during sleep.
In sleep apnea, breathing pauses last between 10 to 20 seconds, occurring n number of times over the night, jolting you out of your natural sleep rhythm. Though treatment is available for sleep apnea, most often it goes unrecognized. Treatment involves sleeping with a mask that pumps air into the throat.
Scientists from Shandong University in China came up with the findings after gathering data from 12 earlier studies.
The latest study suggests that dangers of heavy snoring affecting the heart and the brain are much greater than previously thought. People with heavy snoring were twice more likely to suffer a stroke, but mild snorers face no increased risk, the study suggested. 
Scientists feel that the problem is caused due to constant breathing interruptions that affect blood flow to both these vital organs. Another reason that scientists point is that the heart rate and blood pressure are drastically affected in people suffering from this chronic sleep disorder.
Stroke happens when the blood supply to the brain is blocked or when a blood vessel in the brain bursts. It can kill or leave you with a permanent disability.
The study was published in the International Journal of Cardiology.