Sleep Apnoea: How It Affects Cardiopulmonary Functions and Leads to Hypertension, Stroke, and Heart Disease

Sleep apnoea can cause patients to experience breathing pauses or shallow breathing, leading to oxygen deprivation and serious impacts on health. It can especially increase the burden on the heart and lungs, increasing the risk of hypertension, stroke, and heart disease.

Causes and symptoms of sleep apnoea

The following are common causes of sleep apnoea, which often affects men and obese people:

Ageing: Soft tissues or muscles near the throat become relaxed, obstructing and narrowing the upper airway.

Enlarged tonsils: This narrows the airway.

Small jaw/fat tongue/short neck: The airway will be blocked easily when the individual sleeps on their back.

Nasal polyps/sinusitis/severe allergic rhinitis: These conditions can lead to swollen nasal cavity.

Obesity/excessive fat in the neck: Excessive fat reduces airway patency and hinders breathing.

Common symptoms of sleep apnoea:

Severe snoring during sleep, with frequent episodes of breathing pauses and rapid breathing: These pauses can few seconds to several minutes, and may repeat dozens of times in one night.

Due to the decrease in sleep quality, patients may feel abnormally tired, doze off easily, have difficulty concentrating, and have slow reactions during the day.

Frequent nighttime urination: Sleep apnoea patients may produce hormones due to oxygen deprivation during sleep, triggering a false signal to the body that there is a fluid overload, hence resulting in frequent nighttime urination (two or more times is considered frequent).

The impact of sleep apnoea on cardiopulmonary function 

The symptoms of sleep apnoea can lead to oxygen deprivation and excessive carbon dioxide, which can damage cardiopulmonary function. People who struggle with chronic sleep apnoea problems may face the following risks:

Hypertension

Obstructive sleep apnoea can lead to hypertension. When a person stops breathing for a few seconds, the heart will accelerate pumping to supply oxygen. This increases the heart's workload and causes high blood pressure. At the same time, the body will release a stress hormone called catecholamines, which will increase blood pressure over time.

Stroke and Heart Disease

Repeated breathing pauses during sleep can lead to oxygen deprivation. To replenish the oxygen supply to the body, the heart will beat faster to stimulate blood vessel contraction and supply blood, causing a sharp rise in blood pressure during sleep, which worsens arteriosclerosis. Studies have also shown that sleep apnoea patients have a two to three times higher risk of angina and myocardial infarction and up to four times higher risk of stroke than the general population.

In addition, oxygen deprivation leads to the production of free radicals that can damage blood vessels. Free radicals are the products of oxygen metabolism. They are highly reactive and can react strongly with any substance, destroying the cells at their sites and other cells. When the body is deprived of oxygen, it disrupts normal cellular metabolism and the oxygen becomes a life-threatening kind of free radicals – reactive oxygen species. After a series of chemical reactions, they can destroy the adhesive on the blood vessel wall and cause vascular lesions.

Prevention and treatment for sleep apnoea

Weight loss: Obesity and overweight are major risk factors for sleep apnoea. Losing weight can reduce the incidence of sleep apnoea.

Changing sleeping position: Sleeping on your side can keep the airway open.

CPAP (continuous positive airway pressure) machine: For patients with moderate to severe sleep apnoea, a CPAP machine is an effective treatment method that can deliver continuous air to keep the airway open, thereby reducing the frequency of breathing pauses.
Surgical treatment: For some patients with severe sleep apnoea, surgical treatment may be necessary. For example, surgery can be used to remove tissues that block the airway or adjust the structure of the airway to facilitate breathing and treat sleep apnoea.

If you suspect that you or your family member has sleep apnoea, consult a doctor as soon as possible and receive examinations and treatment to timely reduce the impact of the condition on the cardiopulmonary function.

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