Nearly half of heart disease patients have insomnia, study reveals

Insomnia was found to be the third biggest risk factor for recurrent major heart problems

The patients in the study had an average age of 62 (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

Almost half of patients with heart disease also suffer from insomnia, a new study has found.

The link between insomnia and the risk of recurrent major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE) was found to be “significant”, even when the analysis was adjusted to account for the patients’ other physical and mental health conditions.

Study authors said 16 per cent of these cardiovascular events, such as heart attacks or strokes, might have been avoided if none of the participants had insomnia.