10:00 p.m
Tuesday 19 July 2022
I wrote – Asmaa Morsi
Heart failure is a serious medical condition that many people develop when your heart doesn’t pump enough blood to keep your body performing at its best.
Warning signs of infection can be difficult to spot, and early symptoms often go unnoticed, including shortness of breath during daily activities, difficulty breathing when lying down, weight gain, swelling and fatigue.
Plus, one study reported that a certain thing you might do at night can increase your risk of heart failure, according to bestlifeonline.
Feeling tired or if you struggle to stay active and awake during the day despite getting a good night’s rest, you may have a common condition that can lead to heart failure.
According to a 2018 study published in the Texas Heart Institute Journal, trouble sleeping is linked to many heart-related problems, such as high blood pressure, coronary artery disease, arrhythmias, sudden cardiac death and heart failure.
Types of heart failure:
1. Systolic heart failure: It occurs when the left ventricle of the heart does not contract fully, making your heart unable to pump enough blood throughout the body.
2. Diastolic heart failure: occurs when less blood is pumped through the body, because the left ventricle fails to fill with blood properly.
If this happens while you sleep at night, you are at increased risk of heart failure:
Sleep apnea is a common condition in which breathing stops and starts repeatedly throughout the night. This prevents your body from getting enough oxygen, and puts you at risk for health complications.
There are two types of sleep apnea associated with heart failure: obstructive sleep apnea and central sleep apnea (CSA).
In obstructive sleep apnea, the airway is partially or completely closed, while in type II, there is no airway obstruction.
According to a 2018 study, the prevalence of obstructive sleep apnea is significantly higher in people with heart failure than in the general population.
Obstructive sleep apnea is also closely associated with high blood pressure, irregular heartbeat, heart attack, stroke and heart failure.
In patients with heart failure, excess fluid in the upper airway is an additional factor that may contribute to airway narrowing. Changes in chest pressure associated with sleep apnea put pressure on the heart, and this effect is greater in those with heart disease.
Some signs that may indicate sleep apnea:
Symptoms of sleep apnea to watch for include snoring, morning headaches, mood disturbances, insomnia, and waking up at night due to choking or gasping for air.
Other warning signs to look for that may not be easy to spot include high blood pressure, increased sympathetic nervous system activity, such as a rapid heart rate, and narrowing of blood vessels.
“Individuals who are overweight, smoke, or have chronic lung conditions such as asthma are at increased risk of developing obstructive sleep apnea,” says Jennifer Meres, M.D., professor of cardiology at the Zucker School of Medicine.
In addition, there is a higher prevalence of sleep apnea in men; they are two to three times more likely to develop sleep apnea compared to women, and the risk is increased for women who are not obese, and for those who are postmenopausal, polycystic ovaries can also be affected. The syndrome, hormonal disturbances, and previous stroke increase the risk of developing sleep apnea.”
