Obstructive Sleep Apnea Heart Effects: Can CPAP Help?

Sleep apnea is a disorder that affects around 30 million people in the US alone. However, it is estimated over 80% of cases go undiagnosed. This is a significant figure as obstructive sleep apnea increases the risk of serious heart issues, including heart disease, heart attack, and abnormal heart rhythms .

How Sleep Apnea Affects Heart Health

Obstructive sleep apnea is the more common form of the disorder. Someone with obstructive sleep apnea can see their sleep disturbed hundreds of times every night due to breathing pauses caused by narrow or blocked airways.

Sleep is crucial for allowing the body to rest and prepare for the day ahead, and sleep apnea denies the body the rest it needs. Without diagnosis, the accumulating sleep deprivation takes its toll on the body, including the cardiovascular system. Sleep apnea heart effects resulting from sleep deprivation include an increased risk of heart disease  and heart attack, as well as high blood pressure and stroke. 

While breathing pauses may be brief, each one can see a drop in oxygen levels. Cells called chemoreceptors sense this fall and prompt the body to wake for air – sometimes this can see you wake up gasping for air.

This response can also see a constriction of the blood vessels and an increase in blood pressure as the body tries to pump more oxygen around the body. This sees an increase in heart rate too. All these responses can add to the risk of high blood pressure or make existing high blood pressure issues worse.

What Are Possible Sleep Apnea Heart Effects?

The frequent increase in blood pressure that accompanies the breathing pauses caused by sleep apnea places a direct strain on the heart. It can cause damage to the arteries and blood vessels that transport blood and oxygen around the body.

The frequent changes in the level of oxygen detected in the blood may also lead to oxidative stress. This can promote systemic inflammation that increases the chances of damage to the lining of the arteries and also increases the risk of heart attack.

The additional effort to breathe and inhale air through blocked or partially blocked airways also creates pressure in the chest cavity. This places more strain on the heart. Without diagnosis and treatment, the effects of this pressure over time is an increased risk of an irregular heartbeat and possibly heart failure.

The dangers posed by sleep apnea heart effects can be seen in estimates of how the disorder increases the risk of certain heart conditions:

  • 140% increase in the risk of heart failure
  • 30% increase in risk of coronary heart disease
  • 2 to 4 times the risk of developing an abnormal heart rhythm

Obstructive Sleep Apnea Symptoms

With such a high percentage of obstructive sleep apnea cases going undiagnosed, and the serious health issues linked to the disorder, being aware of the symptoms of sleep apnea is key. These include:

  • frequently waking during the night
  • waking gasping for air
  • loud snoring
  • chronic daytime fatigue
  • morning headaches
  • poor concentration
  • mood swings
  • dry mouth in the morning
  • sexual dysfunction

It can often be a bed partner who first notices symptoms like waking during the night and snoring. If you recognize the symptoms of sleep apnea, consult your doctor, who can arrange a sleep study if they suspect you have the disorder.

How CPAP May Support Heart Health

CPAP, BiPAP or APAP  is one of the primary treatments for moderate to severe obstructive sleep apnea. By delivering air at a pressure level that keeps the airways clear of obstruction, a CPAP device can effectively reduce or possibly eliminate the symptoms of sleep apnea.

This will help improve the quality of your sleep and allow your cardiovascular system to receive much of the recuperative rest it requires each night. This helps remove the pressure and strain from building on the heart and the effects of continuous disturbed sleep.

With a steady flow of oxygen to the lungs restored, the frequent drops in oxygen levels in the blood that lead to oxidative stress are also reduced, further removing strain placed on the heart.

Therefore, it stands to reason that CPAP could support heart health when used to treat obstructive sleep apnea. Improvements in cardiovascular health could also see decreased rates of mortality.

Early research points to CPAP, BiPAP and APAP being effective in negating the effects of sleep apnea on heart health. However, more research is needed. Contributing risk factors like obesity as well as other underlying medical conditions could still impact heart health while using CPAP.

Some people also find it difficult to tolerate the pressurized air or wear a mask overnight through which the air is delivered. Compliance with CPAP, BiPAP or APAP is an important factor for its successful treatment of sleep apnea, and in turn, reducing the potential sleep apnea heart effects. It is therefore important to discuss any compliance issues with your doctor.

Lifestyle Changes for Better Heart Health

Obesity can be damaging to heart health and this can be compounded by obesity being a primary contributing risk factor for obstructive sleep apnea. Therefore, lifestyle changes aimed at weight loss may be recommended by your doctor in treating sleep apnea regardless of whether you also require CPAP therapy.

Up to 90% of sleep apnea patients are obese, but weight loss  can reduce the fat deposits in the neck that collapse when muscles relax as you sleep to block or partially block the airways.

In conclusion, CPAP, BiPAP and APAP may help improve heart health by reducing the frequent breathing pauses from sleep apnea that see your body prompted to wake for air. This helps maintain consistent blood oxygen levels while providing the important rest your body and cardiovascular system need. Removing such stresses from the heart reduces the risk of damage to the heart, arteries, and blood vessels, which can help to reduce sleep apnea heart effects.