New research suggests sleep apnea may lead to the development subsequent cardiovascular complications and death in women, HealthDay reported.

Researchers from Brigham and Women's Hospital found that sex-specific differences exist in the relationship between obstructive sleep apnea and cardiovascular disease and that, in women, sleep apnea was associated with higher blood levels of troponin (hs-TnT), a marker that provides information on early evidence of heart injury.

"The finding that sleep apnea is associated with evidence of early heart injury and an elevation in long term risk of heart failure, coronary heart disease, enlargement of the heart muscle, and death in women highlights the importance of sleep apnea screening and treatment for women, a group who often are not routinely screened for sleep apnea," Susan Redline, co-author of the study, said in a statement.

For the study, researchers collected and analyzed data from more than 1,600 people who were free of heart disease. They were followed for an average of almost 14 years.

At the beginning of the study, when participants were an average age of approximately 63 years, 23 percent of men and 10 percent of women had undiagnosed moderate to severe sleep apnea. Over a 14 year follow up, 46 percent of men and 32 percent of women experienced a significant adverse cardiac event, death, or had an enlarged heart, HealthDay reported. Women with moderate to severe sleep apnea were more than 30 percent likely to experience these adverse heart problems compared to women without sleep apnea. This relationship was not statistically significant in men, suggesting that factors such as age, obesity, hypertension and diabetes explained most of the observed heart disease risk in the men studied.

"We hope these results focus attention on the importance of sleep apnea in women, who historically are under-diagnosed in this area," Redline noted.

The findings are detailed in the journal Circulation.