Atherosclerosis, the unifying mechanism for most of the non-fatal and fatal myocardial infarction and stroke events, is a multifactorial process that has been increasing in prevalence worldwide. Traditional risk factors for atherosclerosis have been extensively studied, but recent evidence pointed out that they explained approximately only 40-50% of the variability of markers of arterial damage and atherosclerosis. Therefore, growing interest has been devoted to exploring the relative role of the “nontraditional’ risk factors. One of the promising candidates is sleep […]

The relationships between sleep disturbances, depression and cardiovascular disease have gained growing interest in the last decades. Most evidence available suggests that several sleep disturbances (including sleep deprivation, insomnia and obstructive sleep apnea) are not only innocent bystanders, but may contribute to increase the cardiovascular risk.– The prevalence and impact of sleep disorders may vary depending on some clinical characteristics (for instance: age, gender and comorbidities). Aging is clearly a risk factor for developing sleep disturbances; consistent evidence have shown […]

The association between smoking and physical inactivity is an essential expression of morbidity and mortality in wide age groups. The present study enhances the recognized risks of smoking, correlating it to the quality of sleep, and autonomic dysfunctions with levels of physical activity. Parameters considered as risk factors for cardiovascular pathologies. It is worth mentioning the accurate methodology contributing to the legitimacy of this study. In the most active group (p> 50), higher values of skeletal muscle mass were observed, […]