Healthy Sleep Patterns Linked to Lower Arrhythmias Risk

A prospective observational study indicated that a healthy sleep pattern was associated with lower risks of atrial fibrillation/flutter (AF) and bradyarrhythmia, independent of traditional risk factors, and the association of the healthy sleep pattern with the risk of AF was stronger among those with a lower genetic risk of AF. The study included 403,187 participants from UK Biobank. A healthy sleep pattern was defined by early chronotype, sleep duration 7-8 hours per day, no snoring, no frequent insomnia and daytime sleepiness. The healthy sleep pattern was significantly associated with lower risks of AF and bradyarrhythmia, but not ventricular arrhythmias, after adjustment for demographic, lifestyle, and genetic risk factors. Compared with individuals with a poor healthy sleep score, those with the best healthy sleep score had a 29% and 35% lower risk of developing AF and bradyarrhythmia, respectively. Additionally, the genetic predisposition to AF significantly modified the association of the healthy sleep pattern with the risk of AF. The association of the healthy sleep pattern with the risk of AF was stronger among those with a lower genetic risk of AF. The findings are in line with prior studies linking a healthy sleep pattern to reduced risks of cardiovascular diseases. Source: https://www.jacc.org/