Can Patients Really Die From Sleep Apnea?

Researchers revealed that those with untreated sleep apnea are three times more likely to suffer heart failure or strokes compared to your neighbors who have similar health issues, but do not have sleep apnea.

When left untreated, sleep apnea can cause permanent damage to your body in ways you may not even realize.

Cardiovascular risks include cardiac ischemia, congestive heart failure, coronary artery disease, and pulmonary hypertension. You may hear plenty of stories of people who have died in the sleep, with heart issues being the cause. Well, untreated sleep apnea may have a direct role in how these problems develop.

Stroke is the second leading cause of death and is a significant factor in death from sleep apnea. A major clinical study at the Yale Center for Sleep Medicine tested 697 patients for a three-year period. When the investigation finished, 22 patients reported strokes and 50 deaths occurred. Strokes and deaths might have been higher if many of the patients had not realized that they needed treatment.