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Gerard D, Santos, MD
Snoring Annoying Or Deadly?
VCU Center for Sleep Medicine
. https://neurology.vcu.edu/divisions/sleep-medicine/

Snoring Annoying Or Deadly?

They say that Billy the Kid once shot a man in the head for snoring. That was the wild west; however, snoring associated with sleep apnea may be just as deadly.

Sleep apnea is a common sleep breathing condition affecting one out of 15 individuals. It is primarily caused by an over-relaxation of the throat muscles during sleep that can lead to narrowing and intermittent collapse of the airway.

Family members and bed partners of patients with sleep apnea often notice them to have abnormal breathing patterns during sleep described as increasing snoring, culminating in a pause in breathing, followed by a gasping for breath. This obstructive breathing pattern typically repeats during deeper stages of sleep when the body is more relaxed.

Sleep deprivation invariably follows the body cannot rest properly because it is always struggling for breath each night, which over time can lead to problems with memory, mood, and concentration. If these obstructive episodes are long and frequent (sometimes averaging 20 seconds and 20 times an hour of sleep), sleep apnea can cause significant oxygen deprivation at night, leading to increased risk of hypertension, heart disease, and even sudden death.

Most people with sleep apnea testify that their quality of sleep was poor prior to treatment “I could sleep 7-8 hours and still feel tired the next day.” This is due to disrupted sleep and poor sleep quality caused by sleep apnea. As such, untreated sleep apnea can typically cause sleep deprivation, which leads to blunted reaction times, labile mood swings, and memory problems. One medical investigation demonstrated that individuals with untreated sleep apnea can be up to four times more likely to be involved in an automobile accident compared with normal controls. Another recent study showed that sleep apnea sufferers are 2-3 times more likely to develop bipolar disorder. Untreated sleep apnea has also been implicated as a significant risk factor for Alzheimer's dementia fragmented sleep with diminished oxygen to the brain over time may lead to excessive protein deposits in brain tissue responsible for Alzheimer's dementia.

The medical research community has accumulated compelling evidence documenting the close relationship between untreated sleep apnea and cardiovascular disease. Perhaps the most significant investigation recently published was the Sleep Heart Health study that examined the effects of sleep on cardiovascular disease. The findings from this 10-year study taken from multiple medical institutions showed that untreated sleep apnea patients have 3 times the risk of having hypertension. Furthermore, hypertension caused by sleep apnea tends to be more severe and lead to more organ damage than other causes of hypertension. Untreated sleep apnea appears to interfere with optimal treatment for certain heart conditions like congestive heart disease and atrial fibrillation, and treatment of sleep apnea improves outcomes in these patients. Yet another study in 2007 conducted by the American Thoracic Society demonstrated a 30% increase in heart attack or sudden death in patients with untreated sleep apnea compared to normal controls over a 5-year time span.

Good news treatment for sleep apnea can stave off and mitigate these dire consequences of untreated sleep apnea. Therapy involves stabilizing the throat muscles during sleep to allow unobstructed air flow for normal breathing which, in turn, perpetuates continuous and deeper sleep. Effective treatment includes weight loss, side positioning during sleep, oral appliances, air pressure devices (CPAP), and surgery. If you are obese, have daytime sleepiness, snore loudly, and/or have any one of the associated health conditions mentioned above, you may be at risk of having sleep apnea and should be tested. Loud snoring by itself may not be serious, but if it is associated with sleep apnea, it could be as serious as a hole in the head.

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