Top in cardiology: Poor sleep linked to high BP; extra 3,000 steps per day could lower BP

People who have difficulty sleeping or sleep less than 6 hours per day have a higher likelihood of developing hypertension, according to a study analyzing data from more than 66,000 participants.

“Both sleep difficulties and hypertension are very prevalent conditions,” Shahab Haghayegh, PhD, a research fellow at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School, told Healio. “Also, research showed that sleep time BP is highly associated with future adverse health outcomes. Given these findings, we were interested to see if people with sleep difficulties or short sleep duration are at higher risk of developing hypertension.”

It was the top story in cardiology last week.

The second top story was about a pilot study that found adults with hypertension significantly lowered their systolic and diastolic BP by increasing their activity from a baseline of 4,000 steps per day to 7,000.

Read these and more top stories in cardiology below:

Insomnia, short sleep tied to high blood pressure risk for women

Women who reported sleep difficulties or sleeping less than 6 hours per day were more likely to develop hypertension compared with women who slept 7 to 8 hours, with shift work not affecting the association, researchers reported. Read more.

Extra 3,000 steps per day can lower blood pressure for older, sedentary adults

Older adults with hypertension who did not meet weekly physical activity goals had significant drops in systolic and diastolic BP after adding 3,000 steps per day to their usual routines, data from a pilot study show. Read more.

At least 4 hours of CPAP per day linked to reduced CV risk in secondary prevention

Good adherence to continuous positive airway pressure therapy may reduce risk for major adverse cardiac and cerebrovascular events in secondary prevention of CVD in patients with obstructive sleep apnea, a study showed. Read more.

33% of patients with first AF event during noncardiac hospitalization had recurrent events

Patients hospitalized for a noncardiac reason with a first-time atrial fibrillation event in-hospital were more likely to have a recurrent event in the 12 months after discharge vs. matched controls with no prior AF, researchers reported. Read more.

Complex pregnancies after heart transplant underscore need for patient counseling

Data showed that pregnancy after heart transplant brings significant risks for all-cause and CV maternal morbidity as well as higher risks for cesarean delivery and hospital readmission within 1 year, highlighting the need for patient counseling. Read more.