Paradoxical sleep deprivation increases mortality in myocardial infarcted rats

We hypothesized that sleep deprivation affects hemodynamic parameters and, therefore, correlates with mortality after acute myocardial infarction (AMI) induced by isoproterenol. Rats were randomly assigned to one of four experimental groups: control, paradoxical sleep deprivation (PSD), AMI, and PSD + AMI. Blood pressure, heart rate and renal sympathetic nerve activity were higher in the PSD group. Mortality after isoproterenol administration was significantly higher in the PSD + AMI group compared to the AMI group. These data suggest that sleep loss is able to increase cardiovascular risk, per se, and worsens the prognosis in cases of cardiac insult.