If left untreated, sleep apnea can cause a number of health problems, including hypertension, stroke, arrhythmias, cardiomyopathy (enlargement of the muscle tissue of the heart), heart failure, diabetes, obesity, and heart attacks. Sleep apnea is a serious sleep disorder that occurs when breathing stops and starts while you sleep. If left untreated, it can cause loud snoring, tiredness during the day, or more serious problems, such as heart problems or high blood pressure. If you think you might have sleep apnea, see your doctor.
Treatment can relieve symptoms and can help prevent heart problems and other complications. Repeated awakenings associated with sleep apnea make normal, restful sleep impossible, making severe daytime sleepiness, fatigue, and irritability likely. Obstructive sleep apnea is also a concern with certain medications and general anesthesia. People with sleep apnea may be more likely to have complications after major surgery because they are prone to respiratory problems, especially when sedated and lying on their backs.
However, sleep apnea does more than make you numb. If left untreated, it can contribute to heart disease, diabetes, and other long-term health risks. Daytime fatigue is perhaps the most common short-term symptom, noticed through difficulties concentrating and falling asleep during the day. Your mood may also be affected, and irritability and depression are common.
Your sleep apnea could have effects on those around you, and also transmit daytime fatigue to a spouse, for example, whose sleep suffers from your interruptions and snoring. The risk of type 2 diabetes increases, as sleep apnea can affect insulin resistance, a major factor in raising blood sugar levels. In turn, diabetes can contribute to heart and vascular problems. This less common form of sleep apnea occurs when the brain does not transmit signals to the respiratory muscles.
A sleep specialist may order a sleep apnea test, which uses equipment to monitor breathing and oxygen levels while you sleep. Other patients may wake up with a dry mouth, as sleep apnea tends to cause you to breathe with your mouth open and dries out saliva. Heart attack risk increases for patients with sleep apnea, as lack of oxygen in the blood can aggravate irregular heartbeats Due to the physical, cognitive and psychological damage that this sleep disorder can cause over time when not properly treated, undiagnosed sleep apnea can affect your well-being and increase the risk of death. You may wake up with shortness of breath or have difficulty falling asleep or staying asleep.
Keeping them right outside the bedroom door would surely lead to door clutches and other noises that would interrupt your sleep. Given his patience due to sleep interruptions, I recommended that he stop sharing a bed with his pets, and keep them behind two closed doors away from the bedroom. Shelgikar recommends consulting a sleep medicine doctor or your primary care doctor if you are concerned about possible obstructive sleep apnea. People who wake up many times during the night may have some nights with zero hours of deep, restful sleep.
There are many studies that show that losing weight can completely cure sleep apnea or at least make it less severe, says Jun. As such, sleep problems can cause a number of health problems and, if left untreated, dire consequences. Your doctor will want to rule out any other possible reasons for your symptoms before you are diagnosed with sleep apnea. Several studies have shown an association between sleep apnea and problems such as type 2 diabetes, strokes, heart attacks and even shorter life expectancy, says Jun.
Although for other complications that have been linked to sleep apnea, it is not yet clear whether having sleep apnea puts you at increased risk for the condition, or if sleep apnea is actually the result of having the underlying condition, Chervin explains. .
