According to a study presented at a conference of medical experts today, less amount of sleep every night could lead to heart attacks later on in life.

It was found by researchers that sleep problems are linked to double risk of heart attack and stroke particularly in case of men. According to American Heart Association spokesperson Russell Leupker, MD, an epidemiologist and cardiologist at the University of Minnesota, sleep-disordered breathing is without any doubt the main reason behind these connections.

The study proved him right since participants in the experiments who were suffering from sleep disorders and were getting less than seven hours a night, showed 4-times higher risk of suffering a stroke compared to the people who were getting a good night’s sleep.

According to the study, poor sleep is a risk factor that leads to cardiovascular disease and increases with smoking, unhealthy diet and lack of exercise. The research is related to a series studying the human heart, which has been initiated by the World Health Organization’s project Multinational Monitoring of Trends and Determinants in Cardiovascular Disease or ‘MONICA’.

According to Professor Valery Gafarov, “Sleep is not a trivial issue. Sleeping disorders were associated with greatly increased incidences of both heart attack and stroke. Poor sleep should be considered a modifiable risk factor for cardiovascular disease along with smoking, lack of exercise and poor diet”.

Sleeping disorders are closely linked with many factors such as depression, anxiety, hostility, vital exhaustion and are a symptom of social stress in the population.