A new study published in the March, 2008 issue of the journal SLEEP shows that loud snoring with breathing pauses is associated with an increased risk of heart disease and strokes.
Hungarian scientists did interviews with 12.643 patients. According to the results, loud snorers had 40 % greater risk of having hypertension, 34 % greater risk of having a heart attack and 67 percent greater risk of having a stroke, compared with people who do not snore, after statistical adjustment for age, sex, body mass index, diabetes, level of education, smoking, and alcohol consumption. Quiet snoring was associated only with an increased risk for hypertension in women.
"Our findings suggest that loud snoring with breathing pauses carries a significantly increased risk for cardiovascular disease and is close to obstructive sleep apnea syndrome on the spectrum of sleep disordered breathing, therefore this simple question may identify high risk individuals whom may benefit from a sleep study," said Istvaan Mucsi, MD, PhD, of Semelweis University and Humber River Regional Hospital and Faculty of Medicine at the University of Toronto in Canada, co-author of the study.
Snoring is the vibration of respiratory structures and the resulting sound, due to obstructed air movement during breathing while sleeping. The sound may be soft or loud and unpleasant. The structures are usually the uvula and soft palate. The irregular airflow is caused by a blockage, due to causes including:
- Throat weakness causing the throat to close during sleep
- Miss-positioned jaw, often caused by tension in muscles
- Fat gathering in and around the throat
- Obstruction in the nasal passage way
Snoring is a sound made in the upper airway of your throat as you sleep. It normally occurs as you breathe in air. It is a sign that your airway is being partially blocked.
About one half of people who snore loudly have developed obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). Sleep apnea happens when the tissue in the back of the throat collapses to block the entire airway. This keeps air from getting in to the lungs. It occurs because the muscles inside the throat relax too much when you sleep. Gravity then causes the tongue to fall back and block the airway passage. It can happen a few times a night or several hundred times per night.
Your light snoring may not disrupt your overall sleep quality, but most people with heavy snoring and sleep apnea are sleepy during the day.
We all snore, at some stage in our lives and while it is more common in people who are overweight it is estimated that about 40% of adult males and 25% of adult females are habitual snorers. Other studies indicate as many as 50% of people in some demographics are snoring.
Both men and women are more likely to snore as they age. Men, however, become less likely to snore after the age of 70. Snoring has also been shown to increase during pregnancy as well as snoring appears to run in families. Your risk of snoring may decrease if you avoid drinking alcohol, stop smoking, lose weight and stop using muscle relaxers. Snoring is also related to allergens.
