Stress, insomnia may lead to irregular heart rhythms post menopause: Study

About 1 in 4 women may develop irregular heart rhythms after menopause with stressful life events and poor sleep being leading factors finds a new studyKnown as atrial fibrillation it may lead to blood clots stroke heart failure or other cardiovascular complicationsldquoIn my general cardiology practice I see many postmenopausal women with picture perfect physical health who struggle with poor sleep and negative psychological emotional feelings or experience which we now know may put them at risk for developing atrial fibrillationrdquo said lead study author Susan X Zhao a cardiologist at Santa Clara Valley Medical Center in San Jose CalifornialdquoI strongly believe that in addition to age genetic and other hearthealth related risk factors psychosocial factors are the missing piece to the puzzle of the genesis of atrial fibrillationrdquo Zhao saidIn the study published in the Journal of the American Heart Association researchers reviewed data from more than 83000 questionnaires by women ages 5079 During approximately a decade of followup the study found about 25 per cent or 23954 women developed atrial fibrillationFor each additional point on the insomnia scale there is a 4 per cent higher likelihood of developing atrial fibrillation Similarly for each additional point on the stressful life event scale there is a 2 per cent higher likelihood of having atrial fibrillationldquoThe heart and brain connection has been long established in many conditionsrdquo Zhao said ldquoAtrial fibrillation is a disease of the electrical conduction system and is prone to hormonal changes stemming from stress and poor sleep These common pathways likely underpin the association between stress and insomnia with atrial fibrillationrdquoResearchers noted that stressful life events poor sleep and feelings such as depression anxiety or feeling overwhelmed by onersquos circumstances are often interrelated Itrsquos difficult to know whether these factors accumulate gradually over the years to increase the risk of atrial fibrillation as women ageChronic stress has not been consistently associated with atrial fibrillation and the researchers note that a limitation of their study is that it relied on patient questionnaires utilised at the start of the study Stressful life events however though significant and traumatic may not be long lasting Zhao notedFurther research is needed to confirm these associations and evaluate whether customised stressrelieving interventions may modify atrial fibrillation risk the researchers saidThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever