Carotid artery stenosis is a condition in which the arteries' narrow blood flow is reduced or blocked, often resulting in a stroke. There are many known risk factors: smoking, high cholesterol, hypertension and obesity among them.

Add another: heavy snoring.

An Australian study, which involved 110 male and female volunteers sleeping overnight in a lab, looked at how the participants snored, and then used an ultrasound to measure the extent of plaque in their arteries.

The result: Scientists found that the risk for carotid artery narrowing among the heaviest snorers was 10 times greater than the risk among those who snored the least.

Less clear is why. John Wheatley, lead author and an associate professor of medicine at the University of Sydney, suggested it may be that vibrations from snoring damage the epithelium — the cells that line the inside of the artery, resulting in inflammation and plaque buildup.

But Wheatley cautioned that the study was too small and selective to establish a causal relationship between snoring and artery blockage.

Still, he told The New York Times, "Heavy snoring may increase the risk for stroke, and heavy snorers should have an assessment to see if they have any other vascular risk factors."

BODY OF KNOWLEDGE

By the age of 21, one in every 20 young males has a receding hairline.

GET ME THAT. STAT!

Women age 70 and older who sleep five hours or less per night may be more likely to experience falls than those who sleep seven to eight hours per night, according to a new report in the Archives of Internal Medicine.

NEVER SAY DIET

The world's speed-eating record for matzo balls is 21 baseball-sized balls in 5 minutes, 25 seconds, held by Eric Booker.

MEDTRONICA

RxList

rxlist.com

An Internet drug index that let's you browse drugs by name, and then check on recommended dosages, side effects, how the drug works and related research. The site is comprehensive, no-nonsense and easy to navigate.

PHOBIA OF THE WEEK

Arachibutyrophobia — fear of peanut butter sticking to the roof of the mouth.

BEST MEDICINE

A mental hospital was severely overcrowded, prompting the head doctor to see if he might find some way to discharge a few patients. One morning, he summoned all of the patients together. At the front of the meeting room, the doctor drew a picture of a door on a big blackboard, and then declared that waiting for any patient who could open the door was a big scoop of ice cream.

Patients madly rushed to the drawing of the door, scratching and pounding in a vain effort to open it. The doctor sighed, and then noticed one patient still sitting quietly in his chair. Ah, thought the doctor, maybe this fellow could be discharged.

The doctor walked up to the patient and asked him why he wasn't trying to open the door like the others. The patient laughed, "I can wait. I have the key."

OBSERVATION

I feel sorry for people who don't drink because when they get up in the morning, they're not going to feel any better all day.

— Singer Frank Sinatra (1915-1998)

LAST WORDS

Curtain! Fast music! Lights! Ready for the last finale! Great! The show looks good. The show looks good.

— Broadway producer Florenz Ziegfeld (1869-1932)

Ziegfeld uttered his last words while hallucinating during a production. In the 1936 movie, "The Great Ziegfeld," William Powell played the producer. His cinematic last words were different: "I've got to have more steps. I need more steps. I've got to get higher. Higher."

To find out more about Scott Lafee and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.

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