Sleep Deprivation may put Elderly at Risk for Heart Disease

New research out of Japan indicates that fewer than 7 1/2 hours of sleep a night may put some elderly people at risk for cardiovascular disease.

Researchers studied 1,255 patients with hypertension and an average age of 70.5.  A short sleep duration increased their heart disease risk 1.68 times.  If the same patients had high blood pressure while they sleep, their risk for heart disease increased by a factor of 4.43.

Sleep deprivation has been linked to various health problems including diabetes, obesity, and cardiovascular disease.

source:

Eguchi K, et al. “Short sleep duration as an independent predictor of cardiovascular events in Japanese patients with hypertension”. Arch Intern Med 2008; 168(20): 2225-30.

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