Sleep deprived women at risk of heart disease

British researchers have found that women who deprive themselves of sleep may be more likely to die of heart disease.

The researchers at the University of Warwick Medical School found that women who slept five hours or less were twice as likely to suffer from high blood pressure (hypertension) than women who slept seven hours or more a night.

However this apparently does not apply to men.

Lead researcher Professor Francesco Cappuccio says cutting down on sleep over long periods results in excessive daytime sleepiness and a higher cardiovascular risk and these are causes for concern.

Dr. Cappuccio says there is more evidence emerging which suggests sleep deprivation has a role as a predictor or risk factor for conditions such as obesity and diabetes.

For their study Cappuccio and his colleagues analysed data on more than 6,500 volunteers, more than 4,000 men and more than 1,500 women from 20 civil service departments based in London.

The researchers established hypertension to be blood pressure equal to or higher than 140/90mm Hg or if the subject made regular use of antihypertensive medications.

The researchers found that the women in the study group who slept less than or equal to five hours per night were twice as likely to suffer from hypertension than women who slept for seven hours or more a night.

No difference was found between men sleeping less than five hours and those sleeping seven hours or more.

Cappuccio says lack of sleep has been linked to a higher risk of developing high blood pressure but also to increased death from a cardiovascular cause.

The research will be presented later this month at the British Sleep Society's annual meeting in Cambridge.

The study is published in the current issue of the journal Hypertension.