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Apnea, obesity and stroke linked by study

Written by: David Castillo on April 8th, 2011

Apnea, obesity and stroke linked by study | read this item

People with extreme cases of sleep apnea should take a little more precaution. Characterized by heavy snoring plus extended pauses in breathing, sometimes lasting more than ten seconds, extreme apnea heightens risks of having ischemic strokes by up to two and a half times as compared to people without sleeping disorders.

Researchers in a study involving 394 subjects whose ages ranged from 70 and above explain that “after studying the quality of their sleep, we tracked the volunteers over the course of six years. After which, 20 of the study subjects had suffered a stroke.”

Lead study author, Neurology Service of the Hospital Complex of Navarra physician Roberto Munoz, confirms that aside from sleep apnea being a major contributor to the possibility of ischemic stroke, there are almost 5 percent of all adults who suffer from sleeping problems, which only makes matters even worse. Munoz later sermons obese patients suffering from sleep apnea that “one of the measures for avoiding the problem is losing weight.”

Source: Times of India