Findings highlight the need to screen women for the nighttime breathing disorder, experts say
WEDNESDAY, Oct. 14, 2015 (HealthDay News) -- The nighttime breathing disturbance known as sleep apnea can boost a woman's risk for heart problems and even death, but there was no such effect for men, a new study finds.
The finding "highlights
the importance of sleep apnea screening and treatment for women, a
group who often are not routinely screened for sleep apnea," study
co-author Dr. Susan Redline, a sleep specialist at Brigham and Women's Hospital
in Boston, said in a hospital news release.
The study involved more than 1,600 people, average age 63, who did not have heart disease at the start of the study. All were
tracked for an average of nearly 14 years.
During that time, 46 percent of
the men and 32 percent of the women either developed heart problems or died.
The study wasn't designed to
prove cause and effect. However, Redline's group found that women with moderate
to severe sleep apnea had more than a 30 percent higher risk
of heart problems than women without sleep apnea. The study found no
significant link between sleep apnea and heart problems in men.
The researchers also found
that, compared to women without sleep apnea, women with the disorder had higher
blood levels of troponin, a chemical signal of early heart damage.
The findings suggest that older
women may be at greater risk for sleep apnea-related heart disease than men, Redline's team concluded.
Two experts agreed that the
findings are a wake-up call to spot and treat sleep apnea in women.
"Obstructive sleep apnea is a common sleep disorder characterized by heavy snoring, airway blockage during sleep
and daytime sleepiness," noted Dr. Harly Greenberg, medical director of
the North Shore LIJ Sleep Disorders Center in Great Neck, N.Y.
"While sleep apnea is
often thought of as a disease most common in men, these results highlight the
importance of recognizing sleep
apnea symptoms in women,
particularly in those who are post-menopause, in whom the incidence of sleep
apnea increases," he said.
"Women who report
symptoms of sleep apnea that include snoring, gasping as night, bed partner's
observation of 'stopping breathing,' morning headaches, non-refreshing sleep or
daytime sleepiness should undergo sleep testing for assessment of possible
sleep apnea," Greenberg advised. By Robert Preidt
HealthDay Reporter
