Sleep Apnea Brings Various Serious Health Problems With It
Sleep apnea is something which needs to be treated seriously and is a condition that will go away by itself with time. In fact sleep apnea is classified as being a “progressive disease” and this means that just like diabetes, heart disease and cancer it worsens in time. There is a great deal of discussion in the medical community about the effect that sleep apnea has on other medical problems. There is a definite link between sleep apnea and a number of physical conditions including hypertension, heart attack, heart failure, diabetes, pulmonary hypertension, stroke and kidney failure.
An increasing amount of research is looking at why these health problems are related to problems that erupt the upper airways of a person suffering from sleep apnea. Of course it is well known that cigarette smoking, alcohol abuse and being overweight contribute to sleep apnea and in turn lead to a greater chance of developing high blood pressure and heart disease. What is not clear however is why many people who do not have any of these elements in their lifestyle still suffer from sleep apnea.
When breathing ceases during a sleep apnea episode the blood has increased levels of carbon dioxide and decreased oxygen levels. Accordingly, a number of physical and chemical events takes place in the body that then raises the possibility of other problems arising in the body.
In sleep apnea sufferers who are overweight experts have discovered high levels of immune factors called interleukin 6 (IL-6) and tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha). High levels of both of these factors can produce serious inflammation in the body which can cause cell damage, particularly within the arteries. In one study it was demonstrated that individuals with elevated levels of tumor necrosis factor-alpha had shortness of breath, excessive tiredness and weak heart pumping. It should be noted however that at this point no clear causal relationship has been established between obstructive sleep apnea and heart disease.
Various studies have been carried out to look at sleep apnea and high blood pressure and a connection has been established between the two. To give an example, a study undertaken in 2000 looked at patients for four years and reported that the greater the number of apnea episodes they experienced in the first year the greater the possibility of developing hypertension by the third or fourth year. Even amongst those who snored or who experienced mild sleep apnea there was a weak but nonetheless higher than usual association with hypertension.
Previously the link between sleep apnea and high blood pressure was considered to be strongly linked to obesity. Recent studies however are pointing to the fact that hypertension is seen especially in people who have sleep apnea no matter how much they weigh.
Blood pressure has an effect on sleep apnea because it fluctuates markedly during repeated sleep apnea episodes. These variations are also related to changes by way of sudden surges that take place in the sympathetic nervous system. This system controls involuntary muscle movements and most importantly those in the heart and blood vessels. It is believed that as time passes these fluctuations could play a major part in the development of permanent long term hypertension.
February 14th, 2009 at 7:59 pm
I enjoyed this article on sleep apnea. It brings to light the importance of breathing correctly and that includes while we sleep.
I understand that extra weight can have a bearing on how much soft tissue is found at the back of the throat. If a person sleeps lying on his back, this soft tissue drops down and closes the airway. This is classed as Obstructive Sleep Apnea, is the most common of the 3 groups of Sleep Apnea, and the easiest to treat.
If untreated it can lead to all sorts of health problems and surprisingly, high blood pressure is one of them.