Poor sleep links to complex coronary plaques in young adults
Functional coronary ischemia occurred in 31.9% of young adults with poor sleep patterns compared with 9.6% of those with favorable sleep.
Global Heart
In a retrospective study of 3,983 adults aged 40 years or younger who underwent coronary CT angiography for suspected coronary artery disease, researchers analyzed how sleep patterns and shift work relate to arterial health. Sleep was scored from zero to five across duration, timing, regularity, quality, and breathing symptoms.
Patients with poorer sleep phenotypes had more severe stenosis, longer lesions, smaller lumen areas, and higher rates of diffuse disease and occlusion. In multivariable models adjusting for traditional cardiovascular risk factors and shift-related occupation, each one-point increase in sleep score was associated with higher odds of CT-derived functional ischemia (adjusted odds ratio 1.38). Shift-related work was also independently associated with ischemia (adjusted odds ratio 1.67) and amplified the link between poor sleep and impaired coronary blood flow.
Why it matters
Circadian misalignment and chronic sleep disturbances may accelerate vascular aging, promoting premature atherosclerosis and coronary ischemia well before midlife.
Caveats
The study was retrospective and observational, which precludes establishing causality. Furthermore, sleep metrics were self-reported, and the cohort comprised patients already referred for clinical evaluation of suspected coronary disease.
The paper
Xi'an Jiaotong University · First Affiliated Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University
Global Heart · 22 Sep 2026 · CC BY