08-03-2021, 12:59 PM
[split] Sleep Apnea Doubles Odds for Sudden Death
Sleep Apnea Doubles Odds for Sudden Death
By Steven Reinberg
HealthDay Reporter
TUESDAY, Aug. 3, 2021 (HealthDay News) -- With apologies to William Shakespeare, this is the stuff bad dreams are made of: Sleep apnea may double your risk for sudden death.
The condition — in which a person's airway is repeatedly blocked during sleep, causing pauses in breathing — may also increase the risk for high blood pressure, coronary artery disease, and congestive heart failure, new research shows.
The repeated lapses in breathing in sleep apnea cut off the oxygen supply to cells, which can result in an imbalance of antioxidants in the body. This imbalance harms cells and may speed up the aging process, leading to many health problems, the researchers said.
Dr. Tetyana Kendzerska, an assistant professor of medicine in the division of respirology at the University of Ottawa in Canada, noted that this is not the first study to find a link between sleep apnea and early death.
She noted that apnea can increase the risk of sudden death in several ways, including off-and-on deficiency in the supply of oxygen to tissues; sleep fragmentation; inflammation; and chronic activation of the nervous system.
By Steven Reinberg
HealthDay Reporter
TUESDAY, Aug. 3, 2021 (HealthDay News) -- With apologies to William Shakespeare, this is the stuff bad dreams are made of: Sleep apnea may double your risk for sudden death.
The condition — in which a person's airway is repeatedly blocked during sleep, causing pauses in breathing — may also increase the risk for high blood pressure, coronary artery disease, and congestive heart failure, new research shows.
The repeated lapses in breathing in sleep apnea cut off the oxygen supply to cells, which can result in an imbalance of antioxidants in the body. This imbalance harms cells and may speed up the aging process, leading to many health problems, the researchers said.
Dr. Tetyana Kendzerska, an assistant professor of medicine in the division of respirology at the University of Ottawa in Canada, noted that this is not the first study to find a link between sleep apnea and early death.
She noted that apnea can increase the risk of sudden death in several ways, including off-and-on deficiency in the supply of oxygen to tissues; sleep fragmentation; inflammation; and chronic activation of the nervous system.
