Cardiovascular Risk
topic
Chronic short sleep duration is an independent cardiovascular risk factor — associated with 48% increased risk of coronary heart disease mortality and 15% increased risk of stroke in meta-analyses of large population studies — operating through mechanisms including elevated systemic inflammation (higher C-reactive protein, IL-6), impaired endothelial function, elevated blood pressure (loss of nocturnal dipping), increased sympathetic nervous system activation, and accelerated atherosclerotic plaque formation.
Role
Cardiovascular disease prevention is overwhelmingly focused on diet, exercise, smoking cessation, and medication — with sleep almost entirely absent from standard clinical risk reduction conversations despite its independent risk contribution being comparable in magnitude to established risk factors. The majority of people at elevated cardiovascular risk who are making genuine efforts to reduce it through lifestyle modification are leaving one of the most impactful modifiable risk factors entirely unaddressed — not from unwillingness but from never having been told that sleep is a cardiovascular issue.