HEART DISEASES

Heart Diseases 2017-04-30T03:17:16+00:00

Heart problems and Sleep

Due to the large number of population suffering from a heart problem, it is very important to know that if its not adequate, it can affect our heart even more.

Since 1970 sleep disorders have been growing rapidly, due to the fact that a third part of our lives we are sleeping this causes repercussions on all the body, including the heart. Dr. Muller demonstrated since 1985 that heart attacks are more frequent in the morning.

Systolic pressure reduces 5 to 14% during sleep. Cardiac frequency (number of beats per minute) reduce during deep sleep. These phenomenons are constant and vary in intensity depending the stage of sleep. These changes are short and are not dangerous.

When we have several sleep disorders like insomnia, snoring, night terrors, etc., these will have different levels of repercussions in our heart. The most common example is Systemic Hypertension which one third of the population is diagnosed with, in reality they have OSA (obstructive sleep apnea).
If someone you know snores loudly or even stops breathing, it could be a cause of Systemic Hypertension. Every time this happens, oxygen quantity in blood is reduced in an alarming manner and cardiac frequency elevates and also blood pressure. This could cause permanent damage if there is no medical attention.

When diagnosed with Systemic Hypertension did your cardiologist ask your sleeping patterns?

Sleep disorders can happen with newborns, if they have arrhythmia (heart beats irregularly) this can lead to death.

Due to the importance of problems by sleep disorders, efforts to educate people on this subject have been made. In United States the National Sleep Foundation was created, which seeks to inform the public in english and spanish. A great portion of hospitals in United States have sleep clinics which study disorders appropriately.

In Mexico the existent information is less. UABC (University of Baja California) created a course on sleep disorders, this way the next generation of doctors will be able to identify these problems. Unfortunately UABC is the only University in Mexico that has this course. There are very few clinics in Mexico and in Tijuana there are two.

If you know somebody with these disorders seek help by a certified specialized doctor.