Sleep and Heart Attacks Dr. Rajeshkumar Shah, M.D., Consulting Physician and Cardiologist In the recent past, many of us have heard about the sad demise of two corporate chief executives in their early fifties and early forties and a 20 year old, final year I.I.T. student. All of them succumbed to heart attack. One of them was very active in sports, was a fitness freak and a marathon runner. Just after he returned home from his gym after a workout, he collapsed with a massive heart attack and succumbed to it. The question that comes to us is why an exceptionally active, athletic person succumbed to a heart attack at 42 years of age. Was it the stress? Stress, is a common element in most of our lives. We used to think that by being fit, one can conquer the bad effects of stress. But more than stress, the above three people were sleep deprived - a very common condition with today’s youngsters and executives. The Real Reason - Most of them make do with 4-6 hours of sleep. - Lack of Sleep is a major risk factor for heart disease. The three heroes [Amar, Akbar, Anthony] of Health & Wellness are- - Sufficient sleep, - Fresh & Nutritious Home cooked food and - Physical activity. The three villains [Three Idiots] are- - The Idiot box, - Computer Screen and - The Mobile. The Evidence Heart Disease caused by Lack of Sleep. I have distilled the key points below in the hope it will serve to create awareness about the need for sufficient sleep and save some of our lives. Some Excerpts: - Insufficient sleep (4 – 6 hours) increased risk for high BP by three to five times compared to those who slept longer than 6 hours per night. As you know, high BP is a silent killer. - Young people (25-49 years of age) are twice as likely to get high BP if they sleep less. - Individuals who slept less than 7-9 hours a night had a 3-fold increased risk of heart attacks. - Complete and partial lack of sleep increased the blood concentrations of High sensitivity C-Reactive Protein (hs-cRP), a predictor of heart attacks. Even after getting adequate sleep later, the levels stayed high!! - Just one night of sleep loss increases your blood sugar level as well as levels of some very toxic substances in body such as Interleukin-6 (IL-6), Tumour Necrosis Factor-Alpha (TNF-alpha) and C-reactive protein (cRP). They increase risks of many medical conditions, including Diabetes, cancer, arthritis and heart disease. Ideal Sleep The ideal sleep architecture in brief: Sleep is composed of two stages: REM (Rapid Eye Movement) and non-REM. The former helps in mental consolidation while the latter helps in physical repair and rebuilding. During the night, you alternate between REM and non-REM stages 4-5 times. The earlier part of sleep is mostly non-REM. During that period, your pituitary gland releases hormones that repair your body. The latter part of sleep is more and more REM type. For you to be mentally alert during the day, the latter part of sleep is more important. No wonder when you wake up with an alarm clock after 5-6 hours of sleep, you are mentally irritable throughout the day (lack of REM sleep). And if you have slept for less than 5 hours, your body is in a complete physical mess (lack of non-REM sleep), you are tired throughout the day, moving like a zombie and your immunity is way down. In conclusion: If you are not getting enough sleep (7 – 9 hours), you are playing with fire, even if you have low stress. Unfortunately, the above three victims of heart attack are not alone when it comes to missing sleep. Many of us are doing exactly the same, perhaps out of ignorance. To enhance our own health and well-being let us all resolve to get enough sleep. Dr. Rajeshkumar Shah, M.D. Better Health Foundation - a resource center for people with health needs.
Posted on: Mon, 15 Jul 2013 15:56:12 +0000
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