Atrial fibrillation, a type of irregular heartbeat, is the most common heart rhythm abnormality seen by doctors. In atrial fibrillation, the heart may not effectively pump blood around the body, which can lead to a number of health problems, including blood clots and stroke. Back in 2015, doctors knew that advancing age, diabetes, obesity, and high blood pressure were all risk factors for developing atrial fibrillation. MESA researchers wanted to learn more about how our sleep quality might also be a risk factor for developing atrial fibrillation.
Sleep apnea is a fairly common sleep problem where the person’s breathing stops and starts over and over again during sleep. When sleep apnea is severe, the body may not get enough oxygen during sleep, possibly leading to heart rhythm problems like atrial fibrillation.
This paper investigated whether people with sleep apnea and other sleep characteristics are more likely to develop atrial fibrillation. They found that people whose doctor had diagnosed sleep apnea were 76% more likely to develop atrial fibrillation than people who had no sleep apnea. The authors of this paper concluded that sleep apnea contributes to the development of atrial fibrillation. This study highlighted the complex interrelationship between sleep health and heart rhythm problems.