Sleep related breathing disorders can directly cause heart disease and treating these disorders may actually decrease the chances of developing cardiovascular disease. There is an increased risk of sudden cardiac death in the first several hours after awakening, perhaps due to the increased work demand on the heart that occurs with awakening. In fact, anytime you wake up even briefly, your heart rate and blood pressure climb. If you have any type of heart condition, it is especially important to watch for signs that you may have a sleep-related breathing disorder.
Hypertension
- Not only is hypertension common in those with obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS), evidence suggests that OSAS can lead directly to the development of hypertension. Treating hypertension may not be enough if the key reason for a person’s high blood pressure is an unrecognized sleep disorder like OSAS.
- Hypertension is the most common cause of stroke, and OSAS can lead to the development of hypertension. In addition, OSAS may cause strokes directly since blood flow to the brain is reduced and the level of oxygen drops during apneas.
- Hypertension medications may not work well if OSAS remains untreated.
Coronary artery disease
- People with OSAS have been shown to have higher rates of coronary artery disease (CAD). OSAS increases the risk for hypertension, which is a known cause of CAD.
Also, the events occurring during OSAS can put excessive stress on the heart and worsen existing disease. - In people who have had heart attacks, OSAS is more likely to occur and may negatively affect their recovery. Studies have shown that the presence of OSAS increases the risk of death from CAD.
Congestive heart failure
- About 50 percent of people with congestive heart failure also have a sleep related breathing disorder called central sleep apnea. Disorders of sleep and breathing can both cause heart failure and develop as a result of heart failure.
- The heart muscle, already in a weakened state, is unable to handle the additional stress caused by the OSAS. Treating OSAS can improve heart function in patients with congestive heart failure.
- It is also important that patients with congestive heart failure be monitored for OSAS and other sleep disorders. In contrast to people with OSA, those with heart failure and OSAS are commonly thin and may not snore at all.