If you sleep more than eight hours a night, snore, and still feel sleepy during the day, that may be a wake-up call that you are at an increased risk for having a stroke. Blockage of the carotid artery is a leading cause of stroke in Americans. Individuals who snore severely or have trouble staying awake during the day should see a doctor to find out why. The sleep connection Sleep apnea, a disorder characterized by heavy snoring, has been recognized as a contributor to heart disease as well as stroke. Sleep apnea, a condition in which breathing stops briefly and repeatedly during sleep, strains the cardiovascular system and can cause an increase in blood pressure.
Stroke is the third leading cause of death in the United States after heart disease and cancer.
A stroke occurs when blood flow to the brain is blocked, either because of narrowed blood vessels or blood clots, or when there is bleeding in the brain. When that occurs, brain nerve cells begin to die within minutes. The result can be vision and sensory loss, problems with walking and talking, or difficulty in thinking clearly. The frequency was 5.4 percent among those who slept for 6-8 hours and 5.4 percent for those who slept less than 6 hours. The study essentially supported what Qureshi and colleagues found in an earlier study using federal health data on 7,844 men and women.