Sleep Apnea Raises the Risk Of Cardiac Arrest

By Damian Blum, DMD, PA

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Sleep Apnea Raises the Risk Of Cardiac Arrest

Recently, a study was published indicating the correlation between sleep apnea and sudden cardiac arrest. The new research became available on June 11, 2013, and was posted online in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology. The study has gained both medical and public interest. For years doctors have suspected and researched the link of cardiac arrest with existing sleep apnea and now additional studies further support the medical understanding.
Study leader Dr. Apoor Gami, a cardiac electrophysiologist at Midwest Heart Specialists-Advocate Medical Group in Elmhurst, Illinois, has indicated the presence and severity of sleep apnea in association with a significantly increased risk of sudden cardiac death. Sleep apnea is known as a sleep breathing disorder that stems from an airway issue in which a person stops breathing frequently during sleep. A sleep apnea diagnosis is made through an evaluation of a sleep test by a board certified sleep physician that determines if a person stops breathing for 10 seconds or more and at least five times hourly while sleeping.
The Scoop
In Gami's study, a group of approximately 10,000 men and women were followed who were referred for sleep studies at the Mayo Clinic Sleep Disorders Center, mostly due to suspected sleep apnea. After sleep tests, 78% were found to have sleep apnea. During the patient follow-up review of up to 15 years, they found that 142 had suffered sudden cardiac arrest.
Low blood O2 levels
When a person's airway is compromised the amount of air flowing into the lungs is also compromised, which leads to oxygen desaturation in the blood levels. The study concluded that “If the lowest oxygen saturation was 78%, or less, the risk of sudden cardiac death increased by 80%.”
It Gets Scarrier
Sleep apnea is estimated to affect about 12 million American adults and up to 90% of the group is still undiagnosed. Nearly 90% of Americans affected by sleep apnea remain in the dark of the possible diagnosis.
Many people wonder why conversations about sleep health and sleep apnea have become so prevalent. For starters, sleep health sciences are relatively new in the medical world and the sleep breathing disorder known as sleep apnea was only discovered in 1966. In addition, research also suggests that sleep apnea is increasing in Americas in part because of the rapid increase of obesity in the country.
Understanding the impact that sleep apnea has on increasing cardiac arrest should force us to take the matter more seriously. If you think you or someone you know may be at risk for sleep apnea, please seek testing. If you've been diagnosed with sleep apnea and cannot effectively tolerate your prescribed treatment, please call a doctor specializing in sleep solutions.
Pay it Forward, Please
If you've been diagnosed with sleep apnea and are successfully being treated, please remember to pay it forward and help spread the awareness. By working together we can slow down the growing rate of sleep apnea and fatality in our country.