Sleep Apnea Could Increase Risk of Cardiac Death

Studies show that those with sleep apnea may be at an increased risk for heart attack.

"The prevalence of obstructive sleep apnea in Western populations is high and will likely only continue to grow given the obesity epidemic and direct relationship between obesity and sleep apnea," said Apoor Gami, MD, MSc, FACC, lead author of the study, via a press release. Gami is also a cardiologist at Midwest Heart Specialists - Advocate Medical Group in Elmhust, Ill.

Sleep Apnea can be very detrimental to your health. It can even cause failure to breathe, which results in loud snoring, chocking and gasping. And worse, many people who have this condition are not aware that they have it.

Gami and colleagues looked at 10,701 participants for an average of 5.3 years. They recorded the number of apnea episodes as well as their low oxygen saturation level, which are measured when air does not reach the lungs due to the apnea episodes. Researchers found that people aged 60 who had 20 apnea episodes and oxygen saturation levels below 78 percent were at a higher risk for a sudden cardiac death. To add to that, they also found that levels that dipped below 78 percent, the chances of suffering from a sudden cardiac death increased by almost 80 percent.

"Treating sleep apnea in one person can improve the quality of life of both bed partners and may have the added benefit of helping to prevent cardiovascular disease," said Virend K. Somers, MD, PhD, FACC, senior author, via a press release. Somers is a professor of medicine at Mayo Clinic College of Medicine in Rochester, Minn. "If the spouse sees the bed partner stop breathing repeatedly during sleep, this is an important clue that he or she probably has sleep apnea."

The study was published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.