Heart attack warning – do you sleep like this? Heart disease signs hidden in your slumber

Heart attacks are a serious medical emergency that require immediate treatment, according to the NHS.

They’re caused by the heart’s blood supply suddenly becoming blocked.

Without enough blood, the heart can become severely damaged, and it can even be fatal.

You could be at risk of a heart attack if you often snore while you’re asleep, it’s been revealed.

Snoring could be a sign of sleep apnoea, which is a risk factor for heart disease, warned the American Heart Association.

Sleep apnoea is caused by pauses in breathing during sleep, owing to weight on the upper chest and neck blocking the airways.

You could be at risk of sleep apnoea if you’re an unusually loud snorer, that sounds like gasping for air or choking.

“Plain old snoring can get a little annoying, especially for someone listening to it, said the charity.

“But when a snorer repeatedly stops breathing for brief moments, it can lead to cardiovascular problems and potentially be life-threatening.

“It’s a condition known as sleep apnea, in which the person may experience pauses in breathing five to 30 times per hour or more during sleep.

“It prevents restful sleep and is associated with high blood pressure, arrhythmia, stroke and heart failure.

“The evidence is very strong for the relationship between sleep apnea and hypertension and cardiovascular disease generally, so people really need to know that.”

Left untreated, sleep apnoea could also increase the risk of having a stroke, developing an irregular heartbeat, or even developing type 2 diabetes.

You could lower your risk of the condition by losing weight if you’re overweight or obese, or by cutting back on the amount of alcohol in your diet.

Sleeping tablets or tranquillisers could be making your sleep apnoea worse, so it’s best to avoid them, added the NHS.

Heart attacks are a symptom of coronary heart disease – one of the largest causes of death in the UK and worldwide.

Heart disease symptoms include severe chest pain – known as angina – and heart failure.

It’s caused by fatty deposits in the arteries around the heart, which block the flow of blood around the body.

Those most at risk of heart disease are smokers, people with high cholesterol and people with high blood pressure.

More than 150,000 people die from coronary heart disease in the UK every year.