There are nearly a half a million deaths each year in the United States attributed to sudden cardiac death (SDC). There are tens of millions of Americans with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). In a study done in Sweden, 50 percent of non-obese women aged 20-70 have OSA. If you add the obese patients, it is easily greater that 50 percent. And there are more men with OSA than women, because the airway in men is longer, leading to more probability that the airway can collapse.

Studies have shown that most of SCD happens in patients who have never been diagnosed with any heart disease. Of course, this doesn’t mean that they have no heart disease; they just have not been diagnosed to have it.

Is there a link between SCD and OSA? That has not been accurately shown to exist, but we do know that in patients with OSA, SCD occurs during the patient’s sleep hours. This is specifically the time that SCD is least likely to occur in non-OSA patients.

A big study was done in Minnesota on 10,701 adults by Gami, MD with others over a 15 year period of time. This study is found in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology. The conclusions drawn from this long, large study show that nocturnal hypoxemia (low oxygen at night which caused by OSA), predicted SCD independently of any other risk factors which also predict SCD. And the more severe the OSA, the risk of SCD was also increased.

The good news is that OSA is a treatable condition. So, if you have any of the symptoms of OSA (these can be found on my website, www.NwSleepDoc.com), it would be prudent for you to be tested for OSA. This is easily done in your own home with a home sleep test.

Has anyone told you that you snore? Do you have daytime tiredness and use coffee or energy drinks to perk yourself up? Do you sometimes wake up gasping or coughing? Do you wake up tired? Any of these are big indications that you should be tested.

If you have been diagnosed with OSA and have been placed on CPAP, but cannot tolerate it, there is an alternative treatment which is comfortable. We have treated hundreds successfully. It could save your life. We have case reports in our office that show multiple times the heart stops during the sleep of patients with untreated OSA. And no one knows why the heart just doesn’t restart in some cases leading to SCD.

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Dr. Donald Johnson founded Northwest Treatment Center for Snoring & Sleep Apnea in Coeur d’Alene to help patients stop their snoring and live free with no limits! OSA is usually able to be treated with a small oral appliance. His office is at 114 W. Neider Ave., near Costco. The website for more information is www.NWSleepDoc.com and the office phone is (208) 667-4551. Schedule a free consultation appointment today!