Being the most common sleep disorder, sleep apnea is something we all know we shouldn’t be messing with. Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) alone poses a huge obstacle to healthy living: it disrupts sleep. While some can’t even bear the idea of not getting a full night’s rest, loss of beauty sleep isn’t the only thing that sleep apnea is guilty of. There are deadly links between sleep apnea and heart disease, and OSA and diabetes.
When one looks more deeply into sleep apnea, it causes so much more than just a loss of sleep. Hypertension, arrhythmias, congestive heart failure (CHF), stroke, and sudden cardiac death are all linked to this sleep disorder. The risk of stroke and sudden cardiac death is increased with sleep apnea. Arrhythmias and sleep apnea go hand in hand. A patient with arrhythmias is more likely to have to deal with sleep apnea than a patient without arrhythmias. A patient with severe sleep apnea is 4.3 times more likely to develop significant ventricular arrhythmia than someone who gets the privilege of sleeping soundly throughout the night. An article from a CHF clinic inTorontogave alarming statistics. Half to sixty percent of their CHF patients suffered from sleep apnea as well. In those CHF patients, the struggle with OSA increases the mortality rate by three to four times. Twelve percent of the CHF patients without sleep apnea died. However, twice as many patients with sleep apnea—twenty four percent—died as well. Of all those patients, zero percent of those with treated sleep apnea lived to fight another day. The study showed that the development of cardiomyopathy and CHF in severe OSA patients would likely be avoided with long term CPAP treatment. OSA patients treated with CPAP were reported to experience a seventeen percent lower incidence of cardiovascular events than those who did not receive treatment. While sleep apnea and heart disease appear to go hand in hand, there are treatments and solutions to help ensure that loss of sleep is the only thing one will have to worry about.
Not only is this sleep disorder a heart breaker, but those with sleep apnea and diabetes have a lot more to worry about than not getting a full night’s rest. Patients that suffer from type 2 diabetes and OSA are at a higher risk for severe retinopathy. This can lead to loss of sight. Retinopathy occurs when the blood vessels in the retina of the eye are blocked or are leaky. This keeps light from getting to the retina and can ultimately damage vision. Neuropathy and other foot problems can come up as well, which can lead to amputation. Neuropathy is nerve damage that can cause long term complications of diabetes. This can lead to foot ulcers and slow healing wounds which can give way to infection. In the worst case scenario, the infection would lead to amputation.
In conclusion, sleep apnea is so much more than just loss of sleep. Heart disease, arrhythmias, hypertension, CHF, stroke, sudden cardiac death, retinopathy, neuropathy, blindness, amputation, and handicap placard—the list goes on and on! Sleep apnea is no laughing matter. And if you or a loved one suffers from this sleep disorder, be sure to get the proper treatment before you find yourself a victim of the myriad of side effects and you’re wandering around blind with one foot.
Sleeping problems such as sleep apnea may also play a role in causing symptoms of depression. You can only imagine why. Not being able to sleep for so many hours can leave a person feeling drained. When you are tired the chances of a person being more irritable are higher. Patients with depression are five times more likely to suffer from sleep-disordered breathing. Interestingly enough, the standard treatment for OSA has also proven to have results with patients who have obstructive sleep apnea.
Cleve'sBlog 