Poor sleep quality linked to more heart disease and stroke
Stroke prevalence was 4.6% among adults with poor sleep quality versus 2.6% among those with excellent sleep quality.
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Editor of record: Boris Djordjevic · AgingResearch.News
Among 88,916 US adults surveyed in 2020, 2022 and 2024, a cross-sectional observational study linked poorer sleep quality to more cardiovascular disease. Researchers assessed difficulty falling asleep, difficulty staying asleep and waking unrefreshed. They classified no problems as excellent quality, one as moderate and two or three as poor.
Coronary heart disease, which affects the heart’s arteries, was present in 7.1% of adults with poor sleep quality versus 4.4% with excellent quality. High blood pressure prevalence was 40.4% versus 30.0%. Associations remained after accounting for sleep duration. Poor sleep quality was also linked to higher coronary heart disease prevalence among adults getting adequate sleep. Short sleep with excellent quality was not linked to higher coronary heart disease prevalence.
Why it matters
Preventing heart disease and stroke is part of healthy aging. The findings suggest that assessing several aspects of sleep may add cardiovascular risk information beyond hours slept.
Caveats
The cross-sectional surveys could not determine whether poor sleep preceded disease; existing illness could have contributed to sleep problems. The findings were reported in a conference abstract.
The paper
Sleep Quality Beyond Duration: Multidimensional Sleep Health and Cardiovascular Risk in U.S. Adults
Yale New Haven Health/Bridgeport Hosp
AHA Scientific Sessions 2026 Abstract, Nov 2, 2026
Presented at AHA Scientific Sessions 2026, abstract 14461
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