In a large study, younger adults with insomnia experienced heart arrhythmias more frequently and earlier than those who slept well. Difficulty falling or staying asleep could therefore be an early risk factor for atrial fibrillation.
An analysis of the electronic health records of more than a million U.S. military personnel showed that about 11 percent were affected by insomnia. Over the next 16 years, 4,168 people developed atrial fibrillation. This was 32 percent more common among those who initially suffered from insomnia.
Other risk factors for atrial fibrillation include male gender, obesity, alcohol abuse, sleep apnea, high blood pressure, heart disease, heart failure and psychiatric disorders. But even after taking these factors into account, the higher risk of atrial fibrillation among people with insomnia remained. In addition, on average, they developed atrial fibrillation almost two and a half years earlier than those without sleep problems. The researchers report this in the specialist journal “Journal of the American Heart Association”.
“We know a lot about the risk factors for atrial fibrillation in middle-aged and older adults, but less about the risk factors earlier in life. To better guide early prevention, we looked at younger adults,” said Dr. Allison Gaffey from Yale University School of Medicine in New Haven, Connecticut.
Atrial fibrillation is an irregular heart rhythm. It is typically diagnosed after age 60 and can lead to blood clots, stroke, heart failure and heart disease. Previous research has shown that pauses in breathing during sleep are associated with a higher risk of atrial fibrillation. However, the impact of other sleep problems on atrial fibrillation remains largely unknown.
Source: DOI 10.1161/JAHA.123.030331