2026-04-08 13:19:54
Snoring may reveal hidden dangers to your heart.
New research suggests it is not just having sleep apnoea that matters, but how much your symptoms fluctuate from night to night.
Sleep apnoea is a common condition where breathing repeatedly stops and starts during sleep, often causing loud snoring, gasping and extreme daytime tiredness.
Left untreated, it has already been linked to high blood pressure, heart disease, stroke and type 2 diabetes.
But scientists at Flinders University, Adelaide, Australia, say the real risk may lie in how unpredictable the condition is.
In a study published in the journal SLEEP, researchers tracked more than 3,000 adults over several months using under-mattress sensors to monitor breathing patterns at home.
They found those whose symptoms varied significantly between nights were around one third more likely to suffer serious cardiovascular events such as heart attack, stroke or heart failure.
Lead author Dr Bastien Lechat said: “Many people assume sleep apnoea is stable, but the reality is very different.
“Some nights can be much worse than others, and this repeated up and down strain may place extra stress on the heart.”
Crucially, this increased risk was seen even in people whose condition appeared only mild on average.
Experts warn that standard one-night sleep tests may miss these fluctuations entirely.
Dr Lechat added: “A single night sleep test may falsely reassure some patients, because people with mild average sleep apnoea can still be at higher risk if their breathing problems swing dramatically between nights.”
A second international study of nearly 30,000 people, published in npj Digital Medicine, backed up the findings.
It showed that severe sleep apnoea, frequent snoring and high night-to-night variability were all linked to faster ageing of blood vessels – an early warning sign of heart disease.
Professor Danny Eckert said: “These night to night swings can quietly stress the heart and blood vessels over time without being picked up by standard testing.”
Researchers say sleep should be monitored over multiple nights – just like blood pressure or blood sugar.
Visit Bang Bizarre (main website)
