A team of researchers from the University of Auckland is studying a promising new medicine that may one day help people living with both heart failure and sleep apnea.
Although the treatment is still being tested, early research suggests that it could improve breathing during sleep while also reducing stress on the heart. If future studies confirm these benefits, one pill could help treat two serious health problems at the same time.
Heart failure is a long-term condition in which the heart becomes too weak or too stiff to pump blood around the body as well as it should. Even though the heart does not completely stop working, it cannot deliver enough oxygen and nutrients to meet the body’s needs.
As a result, people often feel tired, weak, and short of breath. Many also develop swelling in their legs, ankles, or feet because fluid builds up in the body. Heart failure affects millions of people worldwide and is one of the leading causes of hospital admissions in older adults.
Sleep apnea is another common health condition. It causes breathing to stop and restart many times during sleep. These repeated pauses lower oxygen levels and interrupt normal sleep, even if the person does not fully wake up.
Many people with sleep apnea snore loudly, wake up gasping for air, or feel exhausted during the day because they never get enough deep, restful sleep.
Although heart failure and sleep apnea seem like different illnesses, scientists have learned that they are closely linked. People with heart failure are much more likely to develop sleep apnea, and untreated sleep apnea can make heart failure worse. Poor sleep and repeated drops in oxygen place extra stress on the heart, making it work even harder.
The researchers believe one reason for this connection is an overactive “fight or flight” response. This is the body’s natural system for responding to danger by increasing heart rate and blood pressure.
In healthy people, this response switches off after the danger has passed. In many people with heart failure, however, the system remains active all the time. This constant stress can damage the heart and may also contribute to breathing problems during sleep.
The new medicine, called AF-130, is designed to calm this overactive response. By reducing unnecessary nerve activity, the drug may help people breathe more normally while they sleep and reduce the workload placed on the heart. Researchers hope this could improve sleep quality, heart function, and overall quality of life.
Today, the most common treatment for sleep apnea is a CPAP machine. This device gently blows air through a mask to keep the airway open during sleep.
CPAP works well for many people, but some find it uncomfortable or difficult to use every night. A medicine that could improve sleep apnea without requiring a machine would provide another treatment option for some patients.
Researchers also noted that AF-130 is being considered for approval by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for a different medical condition. If it receives approval, it may become easier to carry out additional clinical trials to test whether it is also safe and effective for treating heart failure and sleep apnea.
For now, AF-130 should still be considered an experimental treatment for these conditions. More studies involving people are needed before doctors know how well it works, what dose is best, and whether there are any important side effects.
Even so, the research offers hope that future treatments may address both heart health and sleep problems with a single medicine.
If you care about heart disease, please read studies that herbal supplements could harm your heart rhythm, and how eating eggs can help reduce heart disease risk.
For more health information, please see recent studies that apple juice could benefit your heart health, and results showing yogurt may help lower the death risks in heart disease.
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