Having trouble sleeping? If so, you could have a moderately higher risk of having a heart attack, according to research reported in Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association.
Norwegian researchers tracked 52,610 people and found that the risk of heart attack increased by 27 to 45 percent, depending on the type of sleep problem.
Researchers related heart attack risks to three major insomnia symptoms, compared to those who rarely had these problems.
Those who had trouble falling asleep almost daily in the last month had a 45 percent higher heart attack risk.
Those who had trouble staying asleep almost every night over the previous month had a 30 percent higher heart attack risk.
Finally, those who woke up not feeling refreshed in the morning more than once a week also had a 27 percent higher heart attack risk.
"Sleep problems are common and fairly easy to treat," said Dr Lars Erik Laugsand at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology. "So it’s important that people are aware of this connection between insomnia and heart attack and talk to their doctor if they’re having symptoms."
Photo credit: photostock/FreeDigitalPhotos.net