Effect of shift-related sleep deprivation on heart function

Editor's Note

Twenty-four hour, shift-related, short-term sleep deprivation leads to a significant increase in cardiac contractility, blood pressure, heart rate, and stress hormone secretion, finds this study presented December 2 at the Radiological Society of North America's annual meeting.

The study included 20 healthy radiologist volunteers. Their heart function was checked before and after a 24-hour shift in which they got an average of 3 hours of sleep.

This study may help elucidate how workload and shift duration affect health, the authors say.