Is your spouse a loud snorer? Don't be shy, you're not alone - an estimated 40% of men and 24% of women are habitual snorers.
But instead of sending your honey to the guest room, maybe you should send him/her to a cardiologist.
In a new study published in the journal Sleep, Hungarian researchers interviewed more than 12,000 subjects about snoring and found that loud snorers with breathing pauses had a 34% higher risk of having a heart attack, and a 67% increased risk of stroke. Light snorers, on the other hand, weren't any more likely to suffer either of these conditions than people who didn't snore at all.
The researchers suggest that this extreme type of snoring might be used to help identify people at risk.
The study also uncovered a hopeful trend for women suffering through their husbands' bed-shaking snores: men are less likely to snore once they get past 70. So, hang in there!
