Can Sleep Apnea Kill You? Here Are the Results From A Recent Study

Before we detail sleep apnea symptoms, it’s important to understand the difference between obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) and central sleep apnea (CSA). When you have obstructive sleep apnea, your throat muscles relax and therefore, block airflow into your lungs, which stops your breathing¹ . Conversely, if you experience central sleep apnea, your brain isn’t sending the right signals to your muscles that control your breathing¹ .

Sleep apnea comes with a wide variety of symptoms, and they may depend on the type of sleep apnea you experience. OSA is the more common form of this disorder, but OSA and CSA symptoms typically overlap¹ . In some cases, a person may not even realize they’re experiencing signs of sleep apnea and their partner may tell them, for example, that they snore loudly at night.

The following are sleep apnea symptoms to be aware of¹ .

• Loud snoring
• Breathing starts and stops during the night
  
• Gasping for air during sleep
• Headaches in the morning
• Waking up with a dry mouth
• Irritability
• Difficulty concentrating while awake
• Trouble staying asleep
• Excessive sleepiness during the day
• Irritability

If you experience obstructive sleep apnea² , your breathing is interrupted for more than 10 seconds at a time while you’re sleeping. Periods of hypopnea are reductions in breathing and oxygen, while apnea periods occur when there is a full stop in breathing² .

You experience mild obstructive sleep apnea if you have between five and 14 periods of hypopnea or apnea every hour² . Moderate OSA is categorized by 15-30 hypopnea or apnea events per hour, and if you have severe obstructive sleep apnea, you’ll experience more than 30 periods of hypopnea or apnea each hour you sleep2.

Interested in learning more? Check out our complete guide to sleep apnea.

Sleep apnea can result in a variety of health risks. Dr. Randal Silver, DMD of Sleep Matters Clinic, explains that “Your body goes under tremendous stress every time it gets woken up, due to low oxygen levels caused by sleep apnea. This stress can have detrimental consequences.”

Frequent snoring and gasping for air can be problematic for not only your health but also your partner’s health. These loud noises may prevent your partner from getting a good, uninterrupted night’s rest, affecting their overall well-being.

If you experience excessive daytime sleepiness as a symptom of sleep apnea due to waking up frequently throughout the night, you may have trouble concentrating and could be more likely to exhibit irritable moods. Irritability and the inability to concentrate could result in poor performance at work or school. For those who commute to their job, sleepiness while driving can be highly dangerous as well.

According to the Mayo Clinic, individuals with sleep apnea may experience high blood pressure and heart problems¹ . When you stop breathing, this creates a sudden drop in oxygen blood levels, which can cause your blood pressure to rise and strain the cardiovascular system¹ .

Furthermore, sleep apnea increases your chance of getting a heart attack, stroke, or abnormal heartbeats¹ .

Health experts explain that sleep apnea can cause your body to develop a resistance to insulin and affect your glucose metabolism, increasing your risk of type 2 diabetes³ . Advanced age and obesity are risk factors for type 2 diabetes as well as sleep apnea. Along with sleep apnea, advanced age and obesity are some other risk factors associated with type 2 diabetes.

Sleep apnea has also been linked to metabolic syndrome⁴ . People living with this condition may experience hypertension, abnormal cholesterol levels, high blood sugar, high blood pressure, and an increase in waist circumference⁴ . A 2018 study⁵ suggests that metabolic syndrome could trigger obstructive sleep apnea, though additional research needs to be done to better understand the correlation between these two health conditions.

Major surgery, anesthesia, or certain medications could be problematic for patients with sleep apnea since they are easily susceptible to breathing issues. Therefore, Mayo Clinic experts recommend notifying your doctor of your sleep apnea before you undergo surgery¹ .

Those with sleep apnea are more vulnerable to abnormal liver tests, and are prone to scarring, which is also called nonalcoholic fatty liver disease.

According to the Mayo Clinic, there are two primary ways to diagnose this disorder: nocturnal polysomnography or at-home sleep tests.

When you initially visit your doctor, they’ll probably perform an evaluation before referring you to a sleep center. At the sleep center, a specialist will likely have you undergo a nocturnal polysomnography test, in which you’ll be hooked up to equipment while you sleep. Using sensors, this equipment⁹  will monitor your sleep stages and cycles to see if there are irregularities or disruptions.

You may also have the choice of doing a sleep test at home instead of at a hospital or sleep center. During an at-home sleep study¹⁰ , you’ll use a portable breathing monitor provided by a healthcare provider.

Find Out More: Why Sleep Apnea is Often Misdiagnosed?

During a nocturnal polysomnography, your brain waves, blood oxygen level, heart rate, breathing, and leg and eye movements are recorded while you sleep⁹. This test uses sensors and is the most common way to diagnose obstructive sleep apnea because it shows when there isn’t enough airflow into your lungs⁹. A nocturnal polysomnography usually takes place in a hospital or sleep center.

An at-home sleep study uses a breathing monitor that evaluates your airflow, respiratory effect, and oxygen level while you sleep⁸ . At-home tests are typically less expensive than those done elsewhere and are more convenient. Plus, you may feel more comfortable sleeping in your own bed. However, an at-home test typically isn’t as accurate or in-depth as a nocturnal polysomnography.

Want to know more? Check out our in-depth article about sleep studies.

You may be wondering whether sleep apnea treatments can reduce its complications. The answer is yes.

Whether you change parts of your lifestyle, use a continuous positive airway pressure machine or a Mandibular Advancement Device, or have surgery, these treatments can reduce the symptoms you experience. As a result, these should hopefully reduce complications you may encounter due to sleep apnea.

Your doctor will likely first advise you to make healthy lifestyle changes, such as losing weight, decreasing alcohol intake, or quitting smoking, in order to reduce the risks associated with sleep apnea¹ .

Sleeping on your side might also help to relieve the symptoms of sleep apnea because side sleeping¹¹ helps keep your airways open. We also recommend looking at beds that are helpful for sleep apnea.

People with moderate to severe sleep apnea usually need to use a CPAP machine, which is a small pump that looks like a mask¹² covering your nose and mouth, delivering a constant, steady supply of compressed air.

A mandibular advancement device¹³ (MAD) works to move the jaw and tongue forward, expanding the airway in order to minimize any restrictions in the back of the throat. MADs can greatly reduce snoring, which is a major symptom of sleep apnea¹³ . This device looks similar to mouthguards that athletes use in sports.

Surgery is considered a last resort for sleep apnea when other treatments have failed. There are a range of surgical treatments that have been used for sleep apnea, including tissue removal or shrinkage, soft palate implants, jaw repositioning, nerve stimulation, or tongue nerve stimulation⁸ . The Mayo Clinic reports that the most severe cases may require a tracheostomy, in which a surgeon makes an opening in your neck and inserts a tube to help you breathe⁸ .

A CPAP machine can make you sick if you don’t clean and maintain it well. A contaminated CPAP device¹⁴ could expose your skin to harmful germs, resulting in dirty bacteria touching your face and possibly causing irritation or infection. Additionally, if the device’s pump is not properly cleaned, you could breathe in bacteria or mold.

There is not a link between using CPAP machines and an increased risk of cancer. In fact, some positive research suggests that CPAPs may be able to help suppress cancer-related genes¹⁵ .

There has, however, been some concern after CPAP machines from Philips¹⁶ were recalled. Researchers found that foam on the machine could break down and become toxic, possibly leading to cancer, so it was imperative that this item was recalled.

The risks of untreated sleep apnea can be just as lethal as cancer, but if you have concerns about CPAP devices, you should consult with your doctor.

No, obstructive sleep apnea isn’t linked to a higher risk of death than central sleep apnea. In fact, a 2022 study¹⁷ found that people with central sleep apnea have a higher mortality rate than those with obstructive sleep apnea.