Obstructive sleep apnea may increase the possibly of sudden cardiac arrest. An in depth study over fifteen years, following ten thousand people with possible sleep apnea, found that OSA was associated with a serious increased risk of sudden cardiac death, as well as other cardiovascular conditions.
The three strongest predicators of risk for cardiac arrest in OSA patients were having low blood oxygen levels, being sixty years of age or older, and having twenty episodes of apnea per hour.
Typically the severity of OSA is determined by the amount of apnea episodes in an hour of sleep, which could range anywhere from a few times to a dozen of times during the night. While this study was the first to directly link sudden cardiac arrest and OSA, it does not provide answers for the cause or effect between the two health concerns, only that there is a strong association between the two.
There is hope for people who suffer with OSA, the typical treatment is CPAP (continuous positive airway pressure) has been shown to reduce risk for other cardiovascular conditions.
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