Heart Disease? Could You Need a CPAP Machine?
Sleep apnea is thought to be one of the underlying causes of cardiac disease, hypertension and other heart problems. A physician should look for sleep apnea in their patients with congestive heart failure and high blood pressure.
Obstructive sleep apnea is now believed to have a strong association with hypertension, stroke, heart failure and ischemic heart disease. Even if you are an OSA patient with normal blood pressure levels, you are likely to develop high blood pressure within a five year period. And hypertension is one of the biggest risk factors in the development of heart disease and stroke.
There is a higher level of activity in the sympathetic nervous system (SNS) during wake and sleep in patients with sleep apnea as opposed to patients without. The sympathetic nervous system controls such functions as heart rate and constriction of blood vessels. Persons without sleep apnea have less activity in their SNS and so their blood pressure will fall when they are sleeping.
But if sleep apnea is present, the higher levels of SNS activity will cause constriction of the blood vessels and an increase in heart rate. Blood pressure levels will rise during this time and spikes as high as 250/150 have been noted during apneic events.
Since patients with sleep apnea have faster heart rates and this variability in their blood pressure there is increased instance of cardiovascular problems.
When a person with sleep apnea stops breathing, the oxygen level in their blood decreases. An increase is seen in carbon dioxide levels. Their sympathetic nervous system is activated and when the patient gasps for air, their blood pressure spikes.
This disruption of normal patterns of nighttime blood pressure are implications of heart disease in patients with sleep apnea. CPAP therapy is the most effective treatment for sleep apnea and can help keep blood pressure levels at normal levels.
