The team of researchers who recently spoke at the International Stroke Conference warned that people who have a habit of nodding off in the middle of the day have a 2 to 4 times higher risk of stroke (according to a study). This team urged doctors to give special attention to older patients who said they are dozing off during the day. This is especially important for senior citizen's health.
What is a stroke? A stroke happens when the flow of blood to the brain fails, or is cut off. The brain cells then die from a lack of oxygen and a severely decreased blood flow. Two of the best ways to lower your stroke risk are to know a stroke's warning signs and also to be knowledgeable about knowing the risk factors.
The study included 2000 people. They participants were asked how often they dozed off in certain activities. Some of the activities were watching television, being stopped in traffic while driving and sitting quietly after having a lunch in which no alcohol was consumed.
The alarming trend determined by the research is that the risk of stroke over the next two years is 2.6 times greater if the participants answered “yes” to any of the questions, compared with those who answered “no”. If the respondents revealed that they experienced “significant dozing”, that brought the risk up to 4.5 times higher. Along with increased risk of stroke, the researchers stated the risk of a heart attack or dying from vascular disease was also increased.
The study leader was Dr. Bernadette Boden-Albala. She serves as the assistant professor of the neurology department at Columbia University. She commented that, “These numbers are significant. The results were surprising that the impact was so high for such a short time period.”
Dr. Boden-Albala linked the condition of sleep apnea (this is when you stop breathing for a short time while sleeping) can be linked to the increased stroke risk. The daytime sleeping is linked to sleeping poorly during the night, due to the sleep apnea condition.
She suggested that doctors be more diligent in assessing patients' sleep issues. She suggested that if a patient is moderately and/or significantly dozing, the doctor should consider sending the patient for further evaluation. Dr. Heinrich Audebert, a stroke physician from London, advised that patients who have sleep apnea also have increased blood pressure during the night.
The National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Strokes states that over 700,000 Americans suffer from strokes each year. Approximately 160,000 die annually from stroke related causes.
