Is There A Connection Between Sleeping Pills And Heart Disease?

— -- Question: Is There A Connection Between Sleeping Pills And Heart Disease?

Answer: Certain questions have been raised about the connection between sleeping pills and coronary heart disease. In general, in those studies, we haven't found a direct relationship. That is, we don't think sleeping pills cause coronary heart disease, but as you know, there are people who have sleep apnea; they have difficulty sleeping. They're overweight, they're waking up at night, they may be having arrhythmias, and they take a sleeping pill.

Well, in that instance, people that are taking sleeping pills, have trouble sleeping, and they have a certain number of them who have sleep apnea, so sleeping pills are associated, but not causally related. We don't have any real evidence that I'm aware of that sleeping pills per se cause heart disease. People that take sleeping pills, however, may have associated problems with their heart that make it difficult to sleep.

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