An Examination Of Some Of The Serious Health Problems That Can Accompany Sleep Apnea

                                                                                         

Sleep apnea is a disorder which must be taken seriously and is a condition that is not going to disappear by itself in time. Sleep apnea is in fact classified as being a "progressive disease" which means that like cancer, heart disease and diabetes it gets worse over time. There is a great deal of dispute amongst doctors over the effect that sleep apnea has on other medical conditions. There is a definite link between sleep apnea and a number of physical conditions including high blood pressure, heart attack, diabetes, heart failure, stroke, kidney failure and pulmonary hypertension.

An increasing amount of research is looking into why the above conditions are related to problems which erupt the upper airways of a person suffering from sleep apnea. It is well known that smoking, excessive weight and the overuse of alcohol contribute to sleep apnea and lead to a greater likelihood of developing heart disease and hypertension. What is not clear however is why some people who do not have any of these elements in their lifestyle still have sleep apnea.

When breathing ceases during a sleep apnea episode the bloodstream shows raised carbon dioxide levels and decreased oxygen levels. As a result of this, a variety of both physical and chemical changes takes place within the body that then raises the possibility of other problems being seen.

In sleep apnea sufferers who are also overweight researchers have discovered high levels of immune factors called interleukin 6 (IL-6) and tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha). High levels of both of these factors can cause serious inflammation that can result in cell damage, particularly within the arteries. In one particular study it was found that individuals with raised tumor necrosis factor-alpha levels experienced excessive tiredness, shortness of breath and weak heart pumping. But it must be said that at this point no clear causal relationship has been scientifically established between sleep apnea and heart disease.

Many studies have been done to look at sleep apnea and hypertension and a connection has been found between the two. For example, a study performed in 2000 followed patients over a four year period and reported that the greater the number of sleep apnea episodes they experienced in the first year the greater was the possibility of developing high blood pressure by the third or fourth year. Even amongst those patients who snored or who experienced only mild sleep apnea there was a small but still higher than normal link with hypertension.

Previously the link between high blood pressure and sleep apnea was thought to be strongly connected to obesity. But recent studies suggest that high blood pressure is seen particularly in those who have sleep apnea no matter what their weight is.

Blood pressure affects sleep apnea simply because it changes tremendously during repeated sleep apnea episodes. These changes are also connected to changes in the form of sudden surges that take place within the sympathetic nervous system. The sympathetic nervous system controls involuntary muscles and most importantly those which occur the heart and blood vessels. It is now strongly believed that as time passes these changes could play an important part in the development of permanent and long term high blood pressure.

About the author:
Help-Me-To-Sleep.com provides detailed information about a number of different sleep disorders including insomnia, restless leg syndrome, narcolepsy, shift work sleep disorder, jet lag and sleep apnea.


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