Scientists have long known that sleep and heart health are linked. For example, people who sleep less have a higher risk of developing hypertension than people who sleep well. However, the impact of cardiovascular disease on sleep has been less studied.
To learn more about this, experts gave mice heart attacks and examined their brain waves. These rodents were found to spend significantly more time in non-REM sleep (associated with recovery) compared to mice that did not experience myocardial infarction.
Then experts tried to understand what caused this effect. One obvious answer is the brain. After a heart attack, immune cells cause a massive wave of inflammation in the heart. Scientists decided to find out whether the same changes occurred in the brain.
The team found that after the mouse had a heart attack, immune cells called monocytes flooded into its brain. These cells produced large amounts of a protein (tumor necrosis factor) that regulates inflammation and promotes sleep.
To understand the purpose of the extra sleep, researchers repeatedly interrupted the slow-wave sleep of mice experiencing heart attacks. These animals appeared to have more inflammation in both the brain and heart. They also had a much worse prognosis than those who were allowed to sleep peacefully after a heart attack.
Experts also studied the condition of people with acute coronary syndrome. This term includes, but is not limited to, heart attack. Those who reported insufficient sleep in the weeks following the event had a higher risk of heart attack and other serious cardiovascular problems in the next two years than those who slept well.
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Source: Ferra
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