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Can you die from sleep apnea?

  • Writer: Oxilar North America
    Oxilar North America
  • Apr 16, 2020
  • 2 min read

Updated: Apr 19, 2020

Yes, sleep apnea can kill you – through its interactions with other life-threatening conditions. The good news is that it's treatable.


Sleep apnea is a serious sleep disorder that can increase your risk for developing other chronic conditions. Those with untreated sleep apnea may be more likely to have a heart attack or stroke. is the first step toward improving your health.



How severe is my sleep apnea?


Sleep apnea has different levels of severity. The more severe your sleep apnea, the more likely it is to increase your symptoms as well as your risk for developing other chronic health conditions.


1 - Mild sleep apnea

You experience 5-14 interruptions in breathing per hour of sleep.


2- Moderate sleep apnea

You experience 15-30 interruptions in breathing per hour of sleep.


3 - Severe sleep apnea

You experience 30 or more interruptions in breathing per hour of sleep.


Sleep apnea health risks:


  1. High blood pressure: As many as 1 in 3 people with high blood pressure also have sleep apnea. 43% of people with mild sleep apnea and 69% of people with severe sleep apnea have high blood pressure.

  2. Heart disease: Sleep apnea may place you at higher risk for heart disease and stroke.Up to 76% of people with stable heart failure also have sleep apnea.

  3. Type 2 diabetes: More than half of people with type 2 diabetes also have sleep apnea. Studies show that sleep apnea may affect the body’s ability to use glucose and insulin.

  4. Stroke: Multiple studies have shown that people with sleep apnea are at a higher risk of stroke.Among people with recent strokes, more than 70% had sleep apnea.

  5. Obesity/overweight: Sleep problems likely contribute to weight gain due to lack of exercise from excessive fatigue and imbalanced hormone levels. 77% of obese people also have sleep apnea.



Sleep apnea increases the risk of motor vehicle accidents


Did you know that people with sleep apnea are up to 5x more likely than normal sleepers to have traffic accidents? The AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety estimates drowsy driving may cause 328,000 motor vehicle accidents and 6,400 fatal crashes on U.S. roads each year.

However, it was also found that the risk is reduced when sleep apnea is treated with effective CPAP therapy.



 
 
 

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