Although effective medical treatment for sleep apnea exists, this information has not entered routine medical practice nor does the public recognize the dangers. Unfortunately, even when apnea is suspected, it may be difficult to obtain qualified care. As a result, 95 percent of the millions of people who suffer from sleep apnea have not and may never be diagnosed, let alone properly treated. Nevertheless, the informed person with sleep apnea can take the initiative to get appropriate diagnosis and treatment and take the steps necessary to assure recovery.

• People with coronary artery disease whose blood oxygen is lowered by sleep-disordered breathing may be at risk of ventricular arrhythmia’s and nocturnal sudden death. CPAP treatment may reduce this risk.
• Sleep disordered breathing, including apnea, may cause coronary artery disease and hypertension. Additional research is needed to determine if treatment of the sleep-disordered breathing can prevent these impacts.

With the support of the National Center for Sleep Disorders Research, scientist are now examining the relationship between heart disease and sleep apnea. Research data that justifies a major series of studies to determine if apnea is a cause of heart disease including congestive heart failure, high blood pressure and chest pain. Some of the research suggests that apnea may indeed be a cause of the heart disease.

• Congestive hear failure affects 2.5 million Americans, about 10% of the population.
• 10 percent of men and 5 percent of women are estimated to have sleep apnea.
• In obstructive sleep apnea, often marked by snoring, the right side of the heart may suffer damage because it has to pump harder to support the extra effort of the lungs trying to overcome the obstruction of the airway. *When 42 patients with heart failure were tested in a sleep lab, almost half had a severe apnea, which had not been previously diagnosed.
• Several obese patients with both obstructive sleep apnea and heart failure were treated with CPAP, the usual treatments for OSA. Marked improvement was seen with increased energy and lessened fatigue, lower blood pressure, and a more positive outlook as a result of this treatment.
• Central apnea may cause high blood pressure, surges of adrenaline, and irregular heartbeats. (Centrally apnea occurs without snoring and is not caused by obstruction; rather it is caused by the failure of the brain to send signals for breathing.)

Obstructive sleep apnea is overdue for public attention; it is the second leading cause of daytime fatigue, after insomnia. Poor sleep caused by sleep apnea is a major public health problem. Each night millions of men and women wage a life and death struggle with this little-recognized illness, sleep apnea syndrome. Many deaths among people in their 40’s and older which are attributed to heart disease and transportation accidents may actually be related to an unseen epidemic of sleep apnea. People with sleep apnea syndrome have a higher risk of death than the normal population. The price they pay includes a potentially crippling deterioration in daily functioning, an increased risk of high blood pressure and stroke, depression, and death either in accidents or in their sleep. 

People with sleep apnea syndrome have a higher risk of death than the normal population. The price they pay includes a potentially crippling deterioration in daily functioning, and increased risk of high blood pressure and stroke, depression, and death either in accidents or in their sleep. There are terrible costs for the family of the person with sleep apnea syndrome, who may experience irritability, mood changes, lowered sexual drive and capacity, and a reduction of intellectual ability. In addition there are major business, insurance, health, and social costs including the loss of productivity, the impact of accidents caused by a driver or worker falling asleep, and the wasted health care dollars spent on alleviating symptoms like heart disease without treating their possible underlying cause.