Life Style News. When we talk about heart health, sleep is often given less importance. But do you know that sleep has a deep connection with your heart (health risk of poor sleep). From this you can guess how important sleep is for your health. This year, World Sleep Day (World Sleep Day 2025) is being celebrated on 14 March. Sleep apnea can actually pose a serious threat to the heart. Sleep apnea, especially obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), is a condition in which breath stops and starts repeatedly during sleep. This not only disturbs sleep, but also increases the risk of high blood pressure, heart rate, arrhythmia and stroke.

How does it harm the heart?

• During sleep apnea, the body experiences frequent oxygen deficiency. In this situation, the body reacts to stress, due to which blood pressure increases, heart rate increases, and inflammation increases. All these can cause heart disease.
• High blood pressure sleep is the most dangerous complication of apnea. Repeated fall in oxygen levels increases stress hormones, causing blood pressure to remain high continuously. This condition can be a major cause of heart attack and stroke. Additionally, the OSA is also associated with the atrium fibrillation, which is an important risk factor for stroke.
• Over time, the fluctuations in oxygen levels put more pressure on the heart, which can affect the functioning of the heart and increase the risk of heart failure.

Quick diagnosis is necessary

Early diagnosis is necessary for the management of this condition. It can be diagnosed through polysomnography (sleep studies). Treatment options include CPAP therapy, lifestyle changes and sometimes surgery.

To ignore sleep apnea …

Ignoring sleep apnea can be very dangerous for your heart. Treatment of sleepy disorders is no longer about sleep, but it is about the health of the heart and living a healthy life in the future. If you or a loved one snore loudly in sleep, sleeps during the day, or often having difficulty in breathing at night, it is important to seek immediate medical help. On this occasion of World Sleep Day, let us understand the importance of sleep and take conditions like sleep apnea seriously, because good sleep is important not only for our brain but also for our heart.