by Mary P Ivy

Created on: July 02, 2010   Last Updated: February 15, 2011

Sleep apnea is a common disorder, yet the dangers associated with this disorder can be quite serious. Sleep apnea is much more than simple, annoying snoring. This condition can have serious, even deadly, consequences. So serious, in fact, that Dr. Anu Tandon of Women’s College Hospital in Toronto calls it the “not-so-silent killer.”

What is sleep apnea? Simply, it is a “stoppage of breathing for at least 10 seconds” Patricia Nicholson explains in her article “Waking Up to the Dangers of Sleep Apnea.”  During these episodes, there is no airflow as the upper airway is completely obstructed.

The severity of sleep apnea in a patient is determined by the number of breathing interruptions per hour. According to Dr. Tandon, mild sleep apnea is characterized by 5 to 15 interruptions per hour and moderate apnea is characterized by 15-30 stoppages per hour. Those with severe apnea may stop breathing 30 times an hour.

This undoubtedly has consequences for the sufferer. The least serious effect of sleep apnea is a general feeling of exhaustion and weariness the next day, even though the person may think they have had a good night’s sleep. This leads to difficulty concentrating – itself a danger in certain situations – and irritability. These consequences alone can affect job performance, personal relationships, and individual safety when operating an automobile or other equipment.

More serious dangers include high blood pressure. Nicholson explains the physiological process that causes this increased risk. When “a person stops breathing at night, it alerts the sympathetic nervous system” which triggers a fight or flight response. This response causes the body to release chemicals which affect heart rate which in turn affects blood pressure. While the patient thinks they are sleeping all night, the heart is under assault. The more severe the apnea, the greater the risk of high blood pressure.

Proving a direct connection between apnea and heart disease is not quite so straightforward, but it is easy to see the links. Being deprived of oxygen puts extra stress on blood vessels, elevating blood pressure and contributing to heart disease.

Other chemical reactions that result from apnea are also known to elevate the risk for heart attack. In particular, apnea releases high levels of fibrinogen and homocysteine, which can increase the risk of blood clots, Nicholson explains.

Another risk of poor sleep associated with apnea is obesity. This is particularly troublesome as being overweight increases the severity of apnea because added neck fat presses on airways. MSNBC reported in 2008 a government study showing that "those who sleep fewer than six hours a night…are more likely to be obese.” So, apnea can become a vicious cycle: poor sleep can lead to obesity while obesity makes apnea more serious and deprives the sufferer of enough sleep.

It is important to remember that not all snoring is sleep apnea. It is also important to know that the use of a CPAP machine is a proven treatment for those who suffer from this not-so-silent killer.

Sources:

womenshealthmatters.ca

msnbc.msn.com/id/24502837/

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