Relationship Between Nightmares And Heart Attack

 "can nightmares cause heart attack while sleeping?"

Several times this question has arisen. Obviously, the answer is very rare though there are case reports about people with no previous risk of heart attack developing it after a nightmare.

Currently, there is no study going on about how rare nightmare induced heart attacks might be, and medical experts are yet to know how possible it is for heart attacks to occur just from the pulse racing observed during nightmares.

Visions of nightmares are commonly seen in the rapid eye movement [REM] phase of sleep (mostly night sleep) which gets longer as the night sleep progresses. Therefore nightmares are more likely to occur in the early morning hours.


Similarly, heart attacks too are most common in the early morning hours when the internal body clock alerts and the body begins to secrete stress hormones which results to increased blood pressure. According to Dr Mary McLaughlin a cardiologist, if someone is at risk of having a heart attack because of high blood pressure, sleep apnea, etc it is usually going to be in the  morning but it is rare for a healthy person to have a nightmare which can lead  to a heart attack.

The doctor continued- nightmares can be caused by several factors like alcohol, lack of sleep, anxiety, depression and also, some antidepressant and blood pressure medications can also contribute to increased risk of having a nightmare.

Patients with heart diseases often have a breathing disorder during sleep called sleep apnea which causes fragmentation of what is suppose to be a long night sleep i.e waking up at intervals while sleeping at night. thus can lead to nightmares. said doctor Naomishah a sleep specialist.

A study in 2013 proved that apnea patients who report for nightmares have a more fragmented night sleep than their other counterparts with a less fragmented night sleeps, as a result to the observation nightmares usually disappears when a nightmare prone patient begins to use a 'continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) machine' to treat their apnea.

The bottom line of the above question is that generally nightmares are potentially life threatening though cases maybe very rare.
nightmares can be checked by treating or adressing the following issues properly ; sleep apnea, alcohol, lack of sleep and heart disease