An Examination Of Some Of The Serious Health Problems That Can Come With Sleep Apnea
Author: Donald Saunders
Category: Health
Republish this article manually
Republish articles from Health category automatically
Sleep apnea is a disorder which must be taken seriously and is a disorder that will go away by itself with time. In fact sleep apnea is classified as being a "progressive disease" which means that like heart disease, diabetes and cancer it gets worse in time. There is a great deal of dispute within the medical community over the effect that sleep apnea has on other medical conditions. This said, there is a definite link between sleep apnea and a number of physical conditions including high blood pressure, diabetes, heart attack, heart failure, kidney failure, stroke and pulmonary hypertension.
An increasing amount of research is looking at why the above conditions are related to problems erupting in the upper airways of a person suffering from sleep apnea. It is well known that cigarette smoking, alcohol abuse and being overweight are important factors in sleep apnea and lead to a higher probability of developing heart disease and high blood pressure. However it is not clear why a lot of people who do not have any of these elements in their lifestyle still suffer from sleep apnea.
Whenever there is a cessation of breathing during a sleep apnea episode the bloodstream has increased levels of carbon dioxide and lower oxygen levels. Consequently, several both chemical and physical changes takes place in the body that then raises the possibility of other problems being seen.
In sleep apnea sufferers who are also overweight researchers have discovered that they have high levels of immune factors referred to as tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) and interleukin 6 (IL-6). High levels of both of these factors can lead to serious inflammation in the body which can cause cell damage, especially in the arteries. In one study it was demonstrated that individuals with raised tumor necrosis factor-alpha levels experienced excessive tiredness, shortness of breath and weak heart pumping. It has to be said however that at this time no clear causal relationship has been established between obstructive sleep apnea and heart disease.
Various studies have been conducted to examine high blood pressure and sleep apnea and a link has been established between the two. For example, a study carried out in 2000 examined patients for four years and reported that the more sleep apnea episodes they experienced during the first year the greater the possibility of developing high blood pressure by the third or fourth year. Even in those people who snored or who experienced mild sleep apnea there was a small but still higher than usual association with high blood pressure.
In the past the link between high blood pressure and sleep apnea was believed to be strongly linked to obesity. Recent studies however are pointing to the fact that high blood pressure is seen particularly in those with sleep apnea regardless of what their weight is.
Blood pressure has an effect on sleep apnea because it varies markedly during repeated sleep apnea episodes. These fluctuations are also related to changes by way of sudden surges that take place in the sympathetic nervous system. This system controls involuntary muscles and most importantly those which occur the blood vessels and heart. It is believed that as time passes these fluctuations may play a significant role in the development of permanent and long term high blood pressure.
Resource Box:
Keywords: sleep apnea, sleep apnia, sleep apnea symptoms, sleep apnea treatment, sleep disorders
View Count: 425
Date Submitted: 2/2/2009
Most recent articles in
Health category:
Other related articles in
Health category:
Recent articles by
Donald Saunders: