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Sudden cardiac death linked to sleep apnea
– Reported, September 26, 2013
People with moderate obstructive sleep apnea bear a significant risk of sudden cardiac death.
That’s what the researchers of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology have claimed. A sudden cardiac arrest is a serious condition when the heart suddenly and unexpectedly stops beating.
Unfortunately, it is the leading cause of death among males and females in India owing to its occurrence at any hour of the day, but it reaches its peak during sleeping hours. Sleep apnea is diagnosed when a person stops breathing for 10 seconds or longer for at least five times in an hour while asleep. The patient would typically snore, choke or gasp during sleep, and will wake up drowsy. Although snoring while sleeping is not unusual but one must be aware that excessive snoring can pose a serious health problem that may result in severe complications, if not treated in time. It is quite clear that if a person has sleep apnea, he or she increases their chance of developing hypertension in the future. When a person has sleep apnea, his sleep is disturbed because he is unable to breathe properly. For short intervals, the body does not receive any oxygen and the carbon dioxide levels in the blood go up. This may result in a grave situation, because besides causing a weak heart and cardiac arrest, it can affect the hormones and result in insulin abnormalities or diabetes.
It becomes difficult to define the relationship between sleep apnea and heart disease, as people with sleep apnea often suffer from other coexisting diseases as well, primarily cardiovascular problems such as high blood pressure, heart failure, atrial fibrillation and stroke. In some situations, fat deposits around the upper airway also become an obstruction to breathing. This disorder is commonly seen in overweight, middle aged people, but sometimes it can also be seen in children and people who are not overweight. People tend to have other heart risk factors such as heart failure or heart disease. Having these other risk factors already puts a person at risk of sudden cardiac death. Sleep apnea simply makes the person more vulnerable.
Sleep apnea has over time emerged as a proven cause of abnormal heart rhythms or cardiac arrhythmias. Many heart arrhythmias are harmless. Occasionally everyone experiences irregular heartbeats, which may feel like a racing heart or fluttering. Some arrhythmias, however, especially if they bend too far from a normal heartbeat or result from a weak or damaged heart, may cause upsetting and even potentially fatal symptoms.
Approximately 50 per cent of patients with atrial fibrillation are found to suffer from sleep apnea. It gradually results in the deterioration of the heart muscles pumping ability, leading to congestive heart failure. Fortunately, treating sleep apnea in these patients greatly improves the chance of successfully treating heart arrhythmia and strengthens the heart muscle, thereby reducing the risk of heart attack or stroke.
When it comes to treating milder cases of sleep apnea, some lifestyle changes, such as losing weight, a healthy diet or quitting smoking and alcohol might be all the treatment that is required. If these measures do not improve, the signs and symptoms will grow from moderate to severe, then surgery may be recommended. Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP) is another common reliable method of reducing the cardiovascular consequences of sleep apnea. The CPAP machine works by blowing air into the back of the throat, keeping the airway open. Treating sleep apnea may help you stop snoring, but that does not mean that it has been cured and one can stop using CPAP. It will return, once a patient stops using the machine.
It has now been well established that obstructive sleep apnea is a serious disorder, which may become a major risk to one’s health, causing significant lung and heart problems over a period of time. So those who thought that their sleepless nights were just another problem in their daily routine should consider this as wake up call.
(This article has been provided by Dr. Amar Singhal, Senior Consultant, Cardiology, Sri Balaji Action Medical Institute)
