Can Sleep Apnea Cause Death?

Can Sleep Apnea Cause Death?
Sleep apnea is an extremely dangerous, and sometimes deadly
disorder, if not properly treated.

How can sleep apnea cause death? Death can result directly
from apneic events or indirectly from health issues
adversely affected by the sleep apnea. Death can also
result from accidents that are due to exhaustion from sleep
apnea.

Oxygen is needed for cells to survive. Oxygen enters the
body by respirations. Respirations are voluntary and
involuntary. Voluntary is when you consciously control a
function. Involuntary is when a body function is automatic.
You can stop yourself from breathing, but only until you
pass out, then your autonomic system takes over and tells
the body to breathe. When sleeping, we automatically
breathe.

Oxygen intake is interrupted in the patient who suffers
from sleep apnea. Sometimes the apnea is caused by a short
circuit in the brain. The autonomic system isn't being told
to keep the body breathing.

Other times the apnea is caused by an obstruction of the
tongue or collapse of the airway. If air doesn't enter the
lungs, oxygen cannot be extracted and after about 4 minutes
cells will begin to die. If enough cells die, the body will
not be able to compensate and it will result in death.

Hundreds of short breathing cessations each night harms the
body. Oxygen saturations drop over and over again while
carbon dioxide builds up. This puts stress on the heart.

The heart will enlarge over time if the sleep apnea is
allowed to go on untreated. Blood vessels constrict causing
high blood pressure. Sometimes it will also result in a
stroke if too much pressure causes a vessel to burst. If
the bleeding from the stroke cannot be controlled, it will
also result in death.

How else can sleep apnea cause death? Lack of sleep causes
our bodies chemicals to become out of whack. People
suffering from sleep apnea live continuously with off
balance chemicals that never get a chance to regulate,
therefore sleep deprived people often suffer from
depression. This depression can lead to suicidal thoughts.

Impaired judgment and slow reaction times can cause
accidental deaths from automobile crashes or falls.
Sleepiness and inappropriately falling asleep has resulted
in fires and accidental CO poisoning.

There have been athletes, actors, authors, and other famous
people who have died due to sleep apnea. the most recent
and well known is Reggie White, a NFL Hall-of-Famer who
died at 43 years of age from an arrhythmia caused by sleep
apnea.

So can sleep apnea cause death? Certainly. Can a person
with sleep apnea prevent death? Definitely. Early
diagnosis, proper treatment, and treatment compliance is
crucial for saving your own life.

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The risks of sleep apnea are real, but many people who
suffer from this sleep disorder don't know they have it.
Help someone you love by learning the common signs and
symptoms of this disorder at http://www.SleepApneaOSA.com