Effects and Complications of Sleep Apnea.

Sleep apnea is a sleep disorder and though this may sound benign, it can have serious consequences which can even prove fatal, if ignored. Therefore treating sleep apnea becomes important. And to get one motivated to seek treatment for this disorder, knowing the impact, effects and complications of sleep apnea becomes important. In the previous posts, we discussed

• What is sleep apnea,
• Causes of sleep apnea, and
• Symptoms and signs of sleep apnea.

Here we discuss what effects this disorder can have on the body and their seriousness, if left untreated.

What Complications Sleep Apnea Can Cause.

• Excessive daytime sleepiness due to inadequate deep sleep during the night.
• Poor memory, forgetfulness and difficulty in concentration leading to poor performance at work and in school in case of children.
• Insomnia which can again cause its further complications if not treated.
• Higher risk of developing depression.
• Lack of interest in sex and erectile dysfunction (male impotence).
• Increased risk of accidents while driving or operating machinery (due to lack of sleep).

Image showing effects of sleep apnea.

Click on image to enlarge.

More Serious Systemic Effects of Sleep Apnea.

• High blood pressure (Hypertension).  Hypertension is a serious complication of obstructive sleep apnea. Due to less intake of oxygen because of restricted breathing (due to obstruction to airflow during breathing), oxygen levels in the blood falls. The sympathetic nervous system reacts by constricting the blood vessels and making the heart work harder to increase oxygen supply to the body. This causes the blood pressure to rise which can cause cardiovascular complications. Risk of hypertension increases threefold if you have obstructive sleep apnea and this risk increases with severity of your apnea. Secondly, treating hypertension which has developed due to obstructive sleep apnea is more difficult and it subsides only after you have treated this sleep disorder. It has been found that 80% of difficult-to-treat hypertensive cases (needing more than one antihypertensive drugs) have obstructive sleep apnea.
• Heart complications of sleep apnea.  Congestive cardiac failure, cardiac arrhythmias ( irregular heart beats) and heart attack are complications of the heart which can be caused by obstructive sleep apnea. Risk of these heart diseases doubles in patients who suffer from obstructive sleep apnea. These heart complications arise due to the higher work pressure on the heart to provide adequate oxygen levels to the various parts of the body because oxygen blood levels are low in patients of sleep apnea.
• Stroke. Risk of stroke also increases by 1.5 times if you have obstructive sleep apnea and this is irrespective of whether you have hypertension or not.
• Complications also arise during surgery (especially due to general anesthesia) in patients of obstructive sleep apnea.
• Diabetes. Recent research shows a connection between obstructive sleep disorder and diabetes. It has been found that 50% of Type 2 diabetes patients suffer from sleep apnea. Treating sleep apnea in such cases improves the diabetes.
• ADHD  (Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder). It is found that sleeping problems and ADHD often coexist. ADHD in children causes the child to become less attentive in class, becomes very easily distracted and prone to various behavioral problems. One of the possible causes of ADHD is lack of sleep.

If you notice that you have symptoms of sleep apnea, do consult a professional sleep specialist for possible treatment options to prevent these effects from setting in.

Related posts:

1. Apnea and Sleep Apnea – A Dangerous Sleep Disorder.
2. Sleep Apnea Symptoms and Signs.
3. How is Sleep Apnea Diagnosed.
4. UPPP – Sleep Apnea Surgery.
5. Surgery Treatment for Obstructive Sleep Apnea.
6. Sleep Apnea Equipment – Oral and Dental Devices.
7. How Do You Get Sleep Apnea.
8. CPAP Machine for Sleep Apnea.