Serious Medical Conditions Affected by Sleep Apnea
Sleep apnea is a sleeping disorder, that is defined by on average 10 failed air intakes per hour during sleep. The most common form of sleep apnea is obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) which is caused by an obstruction of the airway when the muscle tone relaxes during sleep. Soft tissue in the airway collapses and together with e.g. a large tongue, enlarged soft palate and excess fat in the neck press on the airway and block it.
Only 4% of people with sleep apnea suffer from central sleep apnea (CSA) which is caused by the brain giving insufficient signal to the muscles to initiate the breathing movement.
Sleep apnea needs immediate attention, as it is considered a serious medical condition. The reason for this are the very common complications caused by sleep apnea:
Cardiovascular conditions
Oxygen levels drop during sleep apnea, thus increasing blood pressure to offset the drop. That can be an enormous strain on the cardiovascular system. Hypertension is the condition of increased blood pressure that increases two or three times by OSA. With the severity of sleep apnea the risk of hypertension increases.
No matter whether blood pressure is present, the risk of stroke is significantly increased by hypertension.
Frequent oxygen undersupply in the bood (hypoxia or hypoxemia) in combination with a precondition of heart desease can lead to cardiac event and sudden death. It has been shown in several studies that there is a strong link between sleep apnea and atrial fibrillation, congestive heart failure and other vascular deseases. Obstructive sleep apnea is often the cause or contributing cause for heart diseases.
Central sleep apnea in contrast, more often is the result of an existing heart disease.
Sleep Deprivation and Daytime Fatigue.
Repeated awakenings caused by sleep apnea and a shallower sleep in general prevent a restful sleep. This results in extensive drowsiness during daytime and an imminent lack of concentration.
This also causes exhaustion, moodiness and irritability.Fatigue often is present when driving a car (which imposes another severe risk) or when concentrating on (school-)work (which ultimately leads to worse performance in school or at work).
People with sleep apnea may also complain of memory problems, morning headaches, mood swings or feelings of depression.
Problems with certain medication and surgery.
Sleep Apnea increase the risk of complications after surgery, as patients with sleep apnea a likely to have breathing problems when they are under medication and lying on their back.
In addition it might take longer to recover after surgery due to the complications with sleeping aids.
It is a big risk for surgery if sleep apnea is not diagnosed. In case of a diagnosed sleep apnea it has to be discussed with the doctor before surgery.
Partners’ sleep deprivation.
Everybody who snores will experience this at some point. Those who sleep in the same room with you will likely be disturbed by the noise and have trouble sleeping. This might actually disrupt a relationship over time to a point where partners can not sleep in the same room anymore.
Nocturia.
With the oxygen level decreasing and carbon dioxide increasing the blood is more acidic and the heart rate drops and heart vessels contract. The problem is signaled to the brain which will wake the patient up. By this time, the heart has increased to a very fst pace and the heart signals excess fluid. The signal is carried by a protein, that tells the body to discard excess sodium and water.
Impotence/Sexual Disfunction (ED).
Recent studies show is a clear connection between ED and sleep apnea. It has been commonly suggested, that this is due to a damage to the cardiovascular system through oxygen deprivation.
Nowadays studies show, that the erections that naturally occur during REM sleep have an essential role in maintaining the erectile function Sleep apnea in most cases prevent extended REM stages.
However, ED and obesity are also statiscally linked, so that sleep apnea does not necessarily have to be the linking symptom.
Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD).
A recent study has shown a strong link between sleep apnea and acid reflux. Approximately half of the patients with sleep apnea also have GERD. Due to worsened GERD symptoms at night, studies suggest that vocal chord (larynx) spasms are caused by the back up of stomach acid, causing a blockage of the airway and thus apnea. So far, no clear proof of sleep apnea being treated via a cure of acid reflux could be found.
Also an apnea can cause a pressure change in the throat that again can lead to GERD.
Just like ED, GERD is often found in connection with obesity which again often causes sleep apnea. Finding a proof for a direct link is therefore quite hard.
December 25, 2010 at 10:42 am
