Researchers say heavy snoring may cause plaque buildup in arteries, leading to stroke.

Nicholas Bakalar writes in the New York Times's (9/9, F6) Vital Signs column that heavy snoring may cause "the arteries that supply the brain with blood" to narrow, ultimately leading to a stroke, according to a study published in the September issue of the journal Sleep. Researchers recruited "110 volunteers, men and women 45 to 80 years old," and had the subjects "spend the night in a sleep laboratory." The authors monitored participants' "snoring, and used ultrasound to measure the extent of plaque in their arteries." After accounting for factors, such as "sex, body mass index, smoking, [and] hypertension," the researchers "calculated that the risk for carotid artery narrowing among the heaviest snorers was 10 times the risk among those who snored the least." The authors noted that "the mechanism for the connection is not clear, but the...vibrations of snoring may cause damage to the epithelium, the cells that line the inside of the artery, leading to inflammation and plaque buildup."


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