A new study has found that nearly half of heart disease sufferers have insomnia. The findings of this study have been published in the journal Sleep Advances.
"Sleep problems are usually associated with mental health issues. But our study found that insomnia was significantly associated with heart problems," said study author Lars Frojd, a medical student at the University of Oslo. That said, heart patients should also be evaluated for insomnia and offered appropriate management.
The study included 1,068 patients who had a heart attack or a procedure to open blocked arteries (stent implantation or bypass surgery) for an average of 16 consecutive months. Participants also completed the Bergen Insomnia Scale questionnaire, which is based on diagnostic criteria for insomnia.
The risk factors included increased C-reactive protein (a marker of inflammation), smoking status, low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol, diabetes, physical activity, waist circumference and systolic blood pressure, the researchers reported.
Studies indicate that insomnia is common in patients with heart disease, Frojd said. Further research is needed to test whether behavioral therapy and digital applications are effective in insomnia treatment.
