Sleep Apnea is a pause of sleep during sleeping, does it have any effects or connection to Stroke?
by Sarah Aniston
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Sleep apnea does not have any connection with stroke. Sleep apnea occurs when a person is unable to support their airway during sleeping. The collapsing airway causes breathing to stop. When the person stops breathing this triggers them to wake up and start breathing. This becomes a vicious cycle and they cannot get a good night’s sleep. Causes are anatomical abnormalities leading to airway obstruction and obesity.
More info on sleep apnea:
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/000811.htm
Sleep Apnea causes so many problems that may not seem related to a sleep disorder, but it’s more than just sleep. It’s a lack of oxygen. It’s not a pause of sleep, it’s a pause of breathing. Oxygen levels can drop during the night to dangerous levels and the long term (every night) dropping of oxygen levels in the blood has serious effects.
Yes strokes can be associated with sleep apnea. Along with heart disease and a host of other problems that may not seem sleep related, from difficulties losing weight, depression and a ton of other symptoms and related causes that are listed on the source page.
According to the American Stroke Association, there is indeed a link between obstructive sleep apnea and stroke, and I have given a relevant reference below.
There is also a major and important relationship between obstructive sleep apnea and sudden, unexpected death. Affected persons have an oval, rather than round, trachea, and when they are lying down, their large airways are more likely to collapse, blocking the airway. This blockage results in the accumulation of carbon dioxide, the depletion of oxygen, and the slowing of the heart.
Videos taken in sleep laboratories of persons with obstructive sleep apnea show the victims struggling to breathe during episodes of obstruction, and these episodes can be alarmingly long. They are also disturbing to watch, since the victim is not awake nor aware of the ongoing struggle to breathe. The mechanism of sudden death is most likely related to the victim not getting relief from the airway obstruction before a cardiac arrest occurs.
Victims of obstructive sleep apnea usually do not get enough rest while they sleep, since the obstruction interferes with REM sleep.
The most widely accepted treatment is to use a CPAP (continuous positive pressure airway) machine with an airtube and a tight-fitting mask that covers the nose and mouth. The machine maintains a positive airway pressure sufficient to prevent the collapse of the trachea, preventing the obstructive anea. These machines greatly improve the quality of rest, and of life in general, for victims of obstructive sleep apnea, and greatly reduce the likelihood of sudden death during sleep.