Is there a link between sleep apnea and heart attack?

Untreated sleep apnea is serious – it increases your risk for high blood pressure, heart attack, and stroke. It also contributes to learning and memory problems, poor job performance, depression and a higher risk for car crashes and accidents.

Why does sleep apnea increase the risk for heart attacks and stroke?

During deep sleep, your heart rate and blood pressure drop. This allows your heart to rest. The pattern of snoring, pauses in breathing and then gasping or choking for air that happen with sleep apnea prevent you from getting the kind of restful, deep sleep your body needs. This can result in high blood pressure.

When your blood pressure is high, your heart is working too hard. This can lead to heart attack or stroke. More than half of people with untreated sleep apnea have high blood pressure. If sleep apnea isn't treated for a long time, your heart begins to wear out because it has to pump harder to cope with the lack of oxygen caused by repeated pauses in breathing.

What about lifestyle changes?

Lifestyle changes – like losing weight and exercising – are important ways to reduce symptoms and can also help reduce other risk factors for heart disease and stroke. If you have mild sleep apnea, some lifestyle changes may get rid of the symptoms altogether. In more severe cases, it can help to reduce the symptoms. Here are some of the things you can do:

• lose weight if you are overweight
• don't smoke
• sleep on your side instead of on your back
• stick to a regular sleep schedule
• avoid caffeine, alcohol and sleeping pills.

Additional resources

• About sleep apnea: what is it? - Canadian Lung Association