Cardiovascular correlates of sleep disorders have not been well investigated in underserved populations. The aim of this door-to-door survey was to evaluate the association between sleep quality and cardiovascular health status in persons aged ≥40 years living in a village that is representative of rural Ecuador.

All stroke-free Atahualpa residents aged ≥40 years were screened with a validated Spanish version of the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index and the seven cardiovascular health (CVH) metrics proposed by the American Heart Association to assess the CVH status.

A total of 635 persons (mean age 59 ± 13 years; 58 % women) were identified. A poor sleep quality was present in 27 % of the subjects (95 % CI 24–31 %) and a poor cardiovascular health in 69 % (95 % CI 63–71 %). In a multivariate logistic regression model, a poor sleep quality was associated with some CVH metrics in the poor range, including smoking status (p = 0.026), physical activity (p = 0.01) and blood glucose levels (p = 0.036).

A poor sleep quality may be linked to individual cardiovascular risk factors in this underserved Latin American population. This finding provides useful insights for the implementation of regional prevention priorities.