Night sweats can be extremely uncomfortable and disruptive to your sleep, but are they an unexpected warning sign of something more serious? People with heart disease or who are at risk for heart disease might wonder if their regularly soaked bedding could be trying to tell them something about their cardiovascular health.

Several MyHeartDiseaseTeam members have mentioned excessive sweating and questioned if others have similar experiences. “I woke up sweating again. It happens throughout the night. Does this happen to anyone else? Is it normal with heart disease?” one asked.

Another commented, “I think the night sweats are a heart thing. I have congenital heart disease and heart failure, and I have been sweating and waking up soaked since I was little.”

This article explores the connections between night sweats and heart disease. Here are five important facts to know.

1. Night Sweats Can Be a Symptom of Heart Disease

One of MyHeartDiseaseTeam members’ most pressing questions is whether or not night sweats are linked to heart disease. While heart disease isn’t the most common cause of night sweats, excessive sweating at night can be a sign of some types of heart disease.

You should let your doctor know if you experience excessive nighttime sweating alongside other heart-related symptoms like:

• Chest pain, especially if it radiates into your back, neck, or jaw
• Fatigue (excessive tiredness that doesn’t improve with rest)
• Dizziness or lightheadedness
• Shortness of breath
• Heartburn
• A racing or irregular heartbeat
• Heart palpitations

Night Sweats and Heart Attack

Among other heart symptoms like chest pain or pressure, excess sweating can be a sign of a heart attack. During a heart attack, you might describe your sweating as a cold sweat. Heart attacks happen when blood flow to your heart is blocked. A heart attack is a medical emergency, so you should call for medical help right away if you think you’re having one.

Night Sweats and Atherosclerosis

Atherosclerosis is a condition that can lead to a heart attack. You develop atherosclerosis when fatty substances called plaques build up along the walls of your blood vessels, which narrow the vessels and can cause blockages. While it may or may not happen exclusively at night, cold sweats and angina (chest pain) can be signs of atherosclerosis when your heart doesn’t get enough oxygen-filled blood.

Night Sweats and Endocarditis

Night sweats are a symptom of endocarditis (inflammation of the lining around your heart and the heart valves). It usually starts because of a fungal or bacterial infection. Like heart attacks, endocarditis is life-threatening.

Night Sweats and Heart Failure

Excessive sweating can be an early sign of heart failure but is often overlooked. Heart failure happens when your heart doesn’t pump blood well enough to all parts of your body. This causes blood to pool up in places like your legs or lungs.

You might experience night sweats when heart failure worsens as the heart tries to compensate by overworking. However, it might also be a sign that your heart is adapting to heart failure in a positive way. Researchers suspect that excessive sweating might be a way for your body to reduce stress on the heart by getting rid of excess fluid.

2. Night Sweats Originate in the Nervous System

You might think of night sweats as more of a skin issue than a nerve issue, but it’s both. Most of your sweat glands are connected to the sympathetic nervous system, which activates and increases your heart rate when you’re stressed or in danger. When the sympathetic nervous system activates, so do your sweat glands.

When you have congestive heart failure, your sympathetic nervous system is working overtime. This may lead to excess sweating, which might be a sign of heart failure.

3. Hormone Imbalances Can Cause Night Sweats

Hormones also play an important role in causing night sweats related to heart failure. A hormone called aldosterone, which comes from the adrenal glands above your kidneys, plays an important role in regulating your blood pressure by managing sodium and potassium. One way to regulate high blood pressure is by sweating.

One MyHeartDiseaseTeam member noticed that they sweat more when they eat a lot of salt. “It happens to me when I eat more sodium than I thought I did. It is the body’s way of getting rid of sodium and fluid,” they said of their night sweats.

4. Night Sweats May Indicate a Risk for Cardiovascular Disease in Women

Night sweats and hot flashes are two common symptoms of the transition to menopause. Together, they’re called vasomotor symptoms.

Vasomotor symptoms appear during the approach to menopause because menopause involves changing hormone levels. Your body produces less of the hormones estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone. These hormone changes can lead to trouble regulating your body temperature, which leads to excess sweating at night as your body attempts to cool down (another link between hormone imbalances and night sweats).

A study in BJOG: An International Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology found that women who experience vasomotor symptoms before or during menopause are at a higher risk for atherosclerosis and cardiovascular disease, even when accounting for age, other chronic diseases, and lifestyle risk factors.

5. Night Sweats Might Be a Medication Side Effect

Your heart disease might not directly cause your night sweats. Night sweats can also be a side effect of medications, including a few you might take to manage heart disease. Beta-blockers are commonly prescribed for arrhythmias, heart failure, and other heart conditions, and some may cause night sweats as a side effect.

Talk to Your Doctor

Talk to your doctor if you regularly sweat through your clothes and sheets while you sleep. Your night sweats may or may not be related to heart disease, but it’s especially important to let your doctor know if the sweating comes with other heart symptoms like chest pain or shortness of breath.

If your night sweats aren’t linked to heart disease, your doctor can explore other possible causes of night sweats, including:

• Anxiety
• Hormone imbalances
• Sleep disorders
• Infections
• Hyperhidrosis (excessive sweating with no clear cause)
• Cancer (including leukemia)

If night sweats are a medication side effect, your healthcare provider may be able to help you find an alternative.

Talk With Others Who Understand

MyHeartDiseaseTeam is the social network for people with heart disease and their loved ones. On MyHeartDiseaseTeam, more than 62,000 members come together to ask questions, give advice, and share their stories with others who understand life with heart disease.

Do you experience night sweats with heart disease? What have you done to sweat less while you sleep? Share your experience in the comments below, or start a conversation by posting on your Activities page.