Sleep As Medicine: The Impact of Sleep on Heart Health
By Emma McNail on January 26, 2026
SPONSORED BY DIGNITY HEALTH
Awareness about the link between heart health and sleep is a key factor in helping your doctor screen and treat cardiovascular and sleep disorder conditions. For example, if you are experiencing heart palpitations and poor sleep, both need to be mentioned. While Dr. Tian says it’s common practice to link a condition like irregular heartbeat to a patient with diagnosed sleep apnea, if a patient isn’t sleeping well and doesn’t mention it, the disorder could go undiagnosed.
If you do mention you’re having trouble sleeping in conjunction with other symptoms, Dr. Tian will likely ask you questions like:
Screening and Treatment
Sleep As Medicine
Did you know a good night’s sleep is crucial to heart health? While certain risk factors have long been associated with cardiovascular disease—which remains the number one cause of death in the U.S.—data from the last decade suggests sleep may be just as impactful.
“Sleep is as important to controlling your cardiovascular risk factors as what we’ve always recommended in terms of quitting smoking, regular exercise and eating healthy,” says Dr. Julia Tian, a Cardiologist at Dignity Health. This change in how we think about sleep presents both challenges and opportunities.
The challenge is that sleep in the U.S. is an issue. The National Sleep Foundation's 2025 poll found that for three or more nights per week, nearly four in ten adults have trouble falling asleep while almost half of adults have trouble staying asleep.
The poll reflects Dr. Tian’s experience. “I would estimate almost half of my patients present with some type of sleep disorder, whether it be undiagnosed sleep apnea or chronic insomnia.”
On the other hand, an opportunity is taking shape. As awareness surrounding the importance of sleep to heart health continues to rise, comes serious consideration by the medical community on how to better improve our sleep. And with improved sleep, better heart health is possible!
We now know sleep plays a critical role in cardiovascular health. Research indicates that sleep, especially deep sleep, is crucial to healing the heart, healing the body, and giving the physiology of the cardiovascular system time to reset. When we don’t get restful, consistent sleep, the body suffers. “When we have poor sleep, it affects us at a cellular and hormonal level,” explains Dr. Tian. “We have increased cortisol, we have increased inflammation, and all that can contribute to the development of coronary heart disease.”
Over time, inflammation in the cardiovascular system plays a substantial role in the development of plaque buildup and high blood pressure, conditions that increase your cardiovascular risk. Poor sleep can also increase your risk of conditions like atrial fibrillation, or Afib, a common type of irregular heartbeat (arrhythmia) that can lead to stroke, heart failure, and other heart-related complications. “Sleep greatly impacts how the muscles of the heart function,” Dr. Tian confirms. “Most of my Afib patients complain of poor sleep.”
This makes reporting poor sleep to your doctor more important than ever. If you wake up feeling tired, are drowsy throughout the day, are told that you snore or find yourself waking up throughout the night, it’s time to talk to your doctor about what could be the cause of your poor sleep.
The Impact of Sleep on Heart Health
Sleep apnea, a disorder where breathing repeatedly stops and starts during sleep, is dramatically underdiagnosed. Obstructive sleep apnea affects nearly 30 million Americans, and an estimated 80 percent of cases remain undiagnosed, according to the American Academy of Sleep Medicine. The disruptive nature of the disease is uniquely tied to poor cardiovascular function.
“Sleep apnea definitely puts a strain on the heart,” Dr. McCusker explains. “The deeper phases of sleep are also most prone to disruption by sleep apnea, which is where the heart impacts come into play.”
For cardiologists like Dr. Tian, this is concerning. “Sleep apnea interferes with oxygen levels and when you have low oxygen, it puts extra stress on the heart,” Dr. Tian confirms. “So, if sleep apnea is the cause of your poor sleep, that directly stresses the heart as your oxygen level dips throughout the night.”
Sleep apnea doesn’t have a single “root cause,” which is one reason why it goes underdiagnosed. However, sleep apnea is interconnected with several risk factors for poor heart health, including diabetes and obesity as well as age and lifestyle factors. “Sleep apnea worsens diabetes, and diabetes worsens sleep apnea,” says Dr. McCusker, noting that while the actual physiology is complicated, it is very common to see both diseases together. “You have to be aggressive about treating both in order to get good results.”
Dr. Tian stresses that anyone who has sleep apnea should remain vigilant about other risk factors for cardiovascular disease, like high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and pre-diabetes. There is good news. When sleep apnea is controlled, many symptoms like high blood pressure can decrease dramatically. Dr. Tian has had patients who no longer needed blood pressure medication once their sleep apnea was diagnosed and treated.
The big takeaway, Dr. Tian says, is to never underestimate the healing power of sleep. “Sleep is medicine. It's just as important as diet, exercise, and it's just as good for you, for your weight loss, for your risk factors like high blood pressure, as Ozempic and medications. And if you can work on sleep, not only will you feel better and stronger, but it can prevent you from needing to add more medications down the line.”
If you’re like many Americans that have trouble sleeping, American Heart Month is a great time to go see your doctor and talk about getting better sleep to improve your heart health and your overall quality of life.
At Dignity Health Heart and Vascular Institute of Greater Sacramento, unparalleled expertise meets compassionate care. We treat more hearts locally than any other health system, a testament to our legacy of excellence and long-standing national recognitions. Our comprehensive approach blends innovative diagnostics, groundbreaking treatments and dedicated rehabilitation services you can count on. From routine checkups to complex procedures, let our experts help keep your heart strong and your life vibrant. Learn more at DignityHealth.org/HeartandVascular.
A sleep study can be done as a home study, often over several nights to get better data. It tells us not just if there is disease, but how severe it is—mild, moderate, or severe.
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When we have poor sleep, it affects us at a cellular and hormonal level...Sleep greatly impacts how the muscles of the heart function.
The effects of poor sleep on heart health may take years to appear and aren’t obviously quantifiable. The tendency is to believe we can “make up for” a bad night’s sleep, or to not prioritize sleep at all. Both of these misconceptions can have serious negative outcomes on your cardiovascular health.
So, what are the habits of healthy sleep? Dr. Scott McCusker, an Otolaryngologist at Dignity Health, says proper sleep hygiene is about “setting yourself up for success.” This means:
Sleep Hygiene: Set Yourself Up for Success
Establishing a routine with a consistent bed and wake-up time (as much as possible).
Setting your bedroom up as a quiet, restful place, then dedicating it for sleep.
Avoiding excessive alcohol consumption and eating right before bed.
If you do wake up, try briefly to get back to sleep, but if that's not working, get up, go to the bathroom, get some water and try again once you feel tired.
Above all, make sleep a priority. “Give yourself enough time to rest,” Dr. McCusker says. He reminds us that “everyone's total sleep need is a little different and changes over your lifetime. Don't worry too much about night-to-night fluctuations, focus more on overall patterns.”
Sleep Apnea, the Underdiagnosed Condition Affecting Heart Health
If a sleep disorder like sleep apnea is identified, there are several forms of treatment. Approaches are highly individualized—every person’s level of disease differs—but the broad categories of treatment include the CPAP machine, a mask worn at night that regulates breathing, an oral appliance or mouthguard, and in some cases, surgery.
Dr. McCusker reminds us that “any doctor can order a sleep study if they suspect apnea. Our sleep medicine colleagues are invaluable not just in the medical treatment of sleep apnea, but also in the many other sleep diseases that may be present.”
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- Dr. Julia Tian, a Cardiologist at Dignity Health
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- Dr. Scott McCusker, an Otolaryngologist at Dignity Health
https://www.thensf.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/NSF_SIA_2025-Report_final.pdf
https://aasm.org/new-national-indicator-report-details-importance-prompt-sleep-apnea-diagnosis-treatment/
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When sleep apnea is suspected, Dr. Tian recommends a sleep study. This common screening technique consists of wearing a device while you sleep that monitors breathing, heart rate and oxygen level.
“A sleep study can be done as a home study, often over several nights to get better data,” says Dr. McCusker. “It tells us not just if there is disease, but how severe it is—mild, moderate, or severe.”
Do you wake up gasping for air, or have you ever awakened taking a deep breath after you sleep?
Do you take a lot of naps?
Do you feel refreshed from that sleep? Or do you still feel tired throughout the day?
Does anyone tell you that you snore?
