Research for your health NHLBI research found that sleep apnea may raise the risk of high blood pressure, diabetes, heart disease, and stroke. Our current research will help develop new and improved treatments for sleep apnea to help prevent these complications.
How does sleep apnea affect the brain?
These breathing pauses can prevent your body from supplying enough oxygen to the brain. In severe cases this lack of oxygen can lead to brain damage. Signs of this damage include memory problems, difficulty concentrating, and moodiness.
Why does sleep apnea cause heart attacks?
Sleep apnea is a leading contributor because it causes your blood pressure and heart rate to elevate. It also forces your heart to work harder to pump blood to your body and your brain. This increases the risk of developing hypertension, but also increases the chances of having a heart attack or a stroke.
Why does sleep apnea cause high blood pressure?
Sleep Apnea Forces the Heart to Work Harder While you’re asleep, sleep apnea triggers the brain to pump more blood to key areas like the brain and heart. This puts added pressure on your artery walls and spikes your blood pressure higher than if you were breathing normally while asleep.
What is sleep apnea a risk factor for Related Questions
What is the most serious potential consequences of sleep apnea?
There are serious potential consequences to undiagnosed or untreated sleep apnea. Besides making sleep difficult, it can lead to high blood pressure, heart disease, stroke, diabetes and result in early death.
Can sleep apnea cause brain stroke?
OSA is an independent risk factor for stroke, even when controlling for other risk factors such as hypertension, diabetes mellitus, hyperlipidemia, and AF. The severity of the patient’s OSA apnea-hypopnea index (AHI‚â•30) plays an important role in the development of ischemic stroke, especially in older patients.
What are three side effects of sleep apnea?
High blood pressure. Heart disease. Heart failure. Stroke. Type 2 diabetes. Weight gain. Metabolic syndrome. Adult asthma.
Does your heart stop when you have sleep apnea?
Researchers suspect sleep apnea causes abnormal heart rhythms, which lead to sudden cardiac death, for a number of reasons. “Sleep apnea may lower oxygen levels, activate the fight-or-flight response and change pressure in the chest when the upper airway closes, stressing the heart mechanically,” he explains.
Can sleep apnea be cured?
Is There a Cure for Sleep Apnea? While there is no cure for sleep apnea, studies show that certain lifestyle factors can reverse or make your sleep apnea less intense. Other treatment or surgical options can also reverse the condition. Sleep apnea happens when your upper airway muscles relax while you sleep.
Does sleep apnea affect blood pressure?
Obstructive sleep apnea, which occurs when breathing is briefly and repeatedly interrupted during sleep, has been shown to increase risk for high blood pressure.
Who suffers from sleep apnea?
Men are 2 to 3 times more likely to have sleep apnea than are women. However, women increase their risk if they’re overweight or if they’ve gone through menopause. Being older. Sleep apnea occurs significantly more often in older adults.
What are the complications of untreated sleep apnea?
Undiagnosed and untreated obstructive sleep apnea syndrome can lead to abnormal physiology that can have serious implications including increased cardiovascular disease, stroke, metabolic disease, excessive daytime sleepiness, work-place errors, traffic accidents and death.
What are the warning signs of sleep apnea?
Breathing pauses or gasps in your sleep. Snoring. Waking up tired, even after a full night of sleep. A headache upon awakening. Waking up frequently during the night for “no reason” Feeling sleepy or exhausted during the day. Need for frequent naps. Problems with memory or concentration.
Can sleep apnea be cured naturally?
‚ÄúThe only way to ‘cure’ sleep apnea naturally is with significant lifestyle changes,‚Äù notes Dr. May. Generally, sleep apnea symptoms like daytime sleepiness and comorbidities like heart disease and excess weight can be treated thus. For example, daytime sleepiness can be curbed with a cup of coffee.
Can lack of sleep cause stroke?
Inflammation can come from increased cortisol‚Äîa stress hormone‚Äîthat changes when you’re sleep-deprived. The inflammation raises your risk for arterial hypertension, heart disease and stroke. Meager sleep also increases heart rate and blood pressure, putting you at even higher risk for stroke.
Can poor sleep lead to a stroke?
Non-dipping—loss of the typical blood pressure drop during sleep—is associated with a host of poor cardiac, neurological, metabolic, and renal outcomes [31-36]. Sleep fragmentation causes non-dipping [37-40]. Non-dipping is common in older adults and is associated with an increased risk of stroke [41-43].
Does sleep apnea increase the risk of heart disease and stroke?
When the air flow stops, the body releases stress hormones, which over time can lead to heart disease — the leading cause of death in the United States — stroke and high blood pressure. It also can increase the risk of type 2 diabetes, liver problems and metabolic syndrome.
When is sleep apnea considered severe?
Obstructive sleep apnea is classified by severity: Severe obstructive sleep apnea means that your AHI is greater than 30 (more than 30 episodes per hour) Moderate obstructive sleep apnea means that your AHI is between 15 and 30. Mild obstructive sleep apnea means that your AHI is between 5 and 15.
Can you live a long life with sleep apnea?
If left untreated, obstructive sleep apnea can shorten your life from anywhere between 12-15 years. While there is no permanent cure for obstructive sleep apnea, diagnosis and treatment will alleviate its effects. Proper treatment can ensure that your OSA won’t shorten your life.
Is sleep apnea a serious problem?
Without treatment, sleep apnoea can lead to other problems including: high blood pressure. a higher chance of having a stroke. a higher chance of having a serious accident caused by tiredness, such as a car accident.