Researchers looking at heavy snorers say that their increased risk of stroke may be linked to reduced blood flow in the brain during certain stages of sleep.
Writing in the medical journal Stroke, scientists at Cleveland's Case Western Reserve University say their study of 12 heavy-snorers (11 men and 1 woman) found brief blood flow changes in the brain during short breathing pauses (apnea) or shallow breathing episodes (hypopnea).
The blood supply reduction occurs in the middle cerebral artery, the researchers said. They hypothesize that internal chest pressure causes a reduction in blood flow in the middle cerebral artery that may lead to stroke.
