How long can you live with sleep apnea?

If left untreated, obstructive sleep apnea can shorten your life from anywhere between 12-15 years.

Does sleep apnea lead to death?

“Sleep apnea can directly cause death by a person's breathing being infrequent enough to create immediate tissue ischemia (tissue death from lack of oxygen) in the heart and/or brain, resulting in a fatal heart attack or stroke,” Jenna Liphart Rhoads, R.N., Ph.

Do people with sleep apnea have shorter lives?

The impact on life expectancy with untreated severe sleep apnea is even more profound: It roughly doubles your risk of death. According to Johns Hopkins Medicine, studies have established that sleep apnea typically decreases life expectancy by several years.

What happens if you have sleep apnea for years?

If left untreated, sleep apnea can result in a number of health problems including hypertension, stroke, arrhythmias, cardiomyopathy (enlargement of the muscle tissue of the heart), heart failure, diabetes, obesity and heart attacks.

Can you live with untreated sleep apnea?

Sleep apnea disrupts circadian rhythms, imbalances body and brain chemistry, interrupts cardiac and respiratory function, elevates blood pressure, and speeds up the heart's rate. When allowed to continue, untreated, it absolutely will lead to higher mortality for those who don't treat it.

How to know if you have sleep apnea

What are the chances of dying from sleep apnea?

About 19 percent of participants with severe sleep apnea died (12 deaths), compared with about four percent of participants with no sleep apnea (46 deaths).

Can you suffocate in your sleep from sleep apnea?

American Sleep Apnea Association. Yes, you can die from sleep apnea.

How many apneas per hour is severe?

Obstructive sleep apnea is classified by severity: Severe obstructive sleep apnea means that your AHI is greater than 30 (more than 30 episodes per hour) Moderate obstructive sleep apnea means that your AHI is between 15 and 30. Mild obstructive sleep apnea means that your AHI is between 5 and 15.

Does sleep apnea cause permanent brain damage?

Untreated OSA is associated with cognitive impairments and problems with mood, memory, and alertness. Researchers believe that sleep apnea may cause brain damage due to the long-term effects of chronic sleep deprivation, as well as oxygen deficiency and the breakdown of the blood-brain barrier.

Does sleep apnea affect your brain?

Severe sleep apnea is associated with brain damage and memory loss. Proper treatment can both prevent and reverse these complications. Sleep apnea is a chronic disorder characterized by repeated pauses in breathing during sleep.

Does sleep apnea cause heart failure?

Obstructive sleep apnea increases the risk of heart failure by 140%, the risk of stroke by 60%, and the risk of coronary heart disease by 30%.

How serious is sleep apnea?

Sleep apnea is a serious medical condition. Complications can include: Daytime fatigue. The repeated awakenings associated with sleep apnea make normal, restorative sleep impossible, making severe daytime drowsiness, fatigue and irritability likely.

Does sleep apnea cause belly fat?

In women, researchers found no association between obstructive sleep apnea and visceral fat accumulation. In women, visceral fat was only associated with body-mass index.

How do people with sleep apnea live?

How many apnea events per hour is normal?

That's because it's considered normal for everyone to have up to four apneas an hour. It's also common if your AHIs vary from night to night. For some CPAP users, even higher AHIs are acceptable, depending on the severity of your sleep apnea.

Does CPAP increase life expectancy?

The study found that the CPAP users cut their odds of dying from any cause over those 11 years by almost two-thirds, compared to nonusers.

What organs does sleep apnea affect?

Digestive system

If you have sleep apnea, you're more likely to have fatty liver disease, liver scarring, and higher-than-normal levels of liver enzymes. Apnea can also worsen heartburn and other symptoms of gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), which can interrupt your sleep even more.

What is the root cause of sleep apnea?

In adults, the most common cause of obstructive sleep apnea is excess weight and obesity, which is associated with the soft tissue of the mouth and throat. During sleep, when throat and tongue muscles are more relaxed, this soft tissue can cause the airway to become blocked.

Can you get dementia from sleep apnea?

Sleep apnea is considered a risk factor for dementia. People with sleep apnea have been shown not only to have impaired memory and executive function, but also biomarker changes that are associated with Alzheimer's disease.

What is the most serious presenting symptom of sleep apnea?

Make an appointment with your doctor if you're exhibiting any of the symptoms of obstructive sleep apnea, especially: loud, disruptive snoring. episodes of stopped breathing while sleeping. abrupt awakenings from sleep that are frequently accompanied by gasping or choking.

What is the highest sleep apnea number?

From the rating chart here, we see that an index less that 5 is considered normal. For an Apnea-Hypopnea Index from 5 to 15 denotes mild sleep apnea. Fifteen to 30 is moderate, while a greater than 30 is considered severe.

Will your body wake you up if you stop breathing?

“In sleep apnea, your life is saved by awakening,” said Clifford Saper, chair of neurology at Harvard Medical School (HMS). When you stop breathing, the brain wakes you up.

What is the best position to sleep if you have sleep apnea?

Sleeping on the left side

It's by far the most effective sleep position to help control sleep apnea. It's considered to encourage blood flow, reduce snoring and calm sleep apnea. In fact, research points out that left side-sleepers experience less severe sleep apnea occurrences.

How I cured my sleep apnea?

Does CPAP help lose weight?

However, new research suggests that CPAP therapy may also help improve weight loss for patients with sleep apnea. Sleep apnea treatment may help with sleep quality which may help improve weight loss. An estimated 60-90% of those with sleep apnea are overweight or obese.