Severe Sleep Apnea

In order to better explain what happens when Severe Sleep Apnea occurs it is best to provide a definition (first).  When Sleep Apnea occurs (regardless of levels of severity) there are brief periods where the breathing is interrupted during sleep.  Statistically, this sleep disorder affects approximately ten to twenty-five percent of the population within the United States.

The most common Apnea with respect to Severe Sleep Apnea is Obstructive Sleep Apnea.  It is connected to several critical health issues including a)  Cardiovascular Disease; and, b) Obesity.    A study  performed by the National Heart Lung and Blood Institute was set up to determine if there was a connection between Severe Sleep Apnea and a higher rate of mortality.  Six thousand four hundred forty one men and women (both with and without the sleep condition) participated in the study. 

The study lasted over a fifteen year span of time and Modifications were made with respect to participants:

• age
• race
• body mass index
• smoking

It was subsequently concluded that the male gender between forty and seventy years of age with Severe Sleep Apnea (meaning more than thirty incidents of disrupted breathing:  ten seconds or longer per hour) had a higher mortality risk factor than those subjects who did not experience Severe Apnea.  The other gender and age groups as well as the other Severe Apnea groups did not show percentage-wise an increased risk with regard to mortality.  (This is not to infer, however, that the other Severe Apnea groups will not be closely watched or monitored within the future respective of levels of mortality connected with Severe Sleep Apnea

The findings mentioned within the preceding paragraph are not all that surprising to members of  the sleep-associated research community.  This is due to the fact, it has long been thought that Severe Sleep Apnea is a cause of death.  Additionally, many persons experiencing Severe Sleep Apnea also have: a)  high blood pressure; and b)  increased levels of cholesterol.   

However, that said, it isn't certain if the Severe Sleep Apnea is the cause of the previous mentioned conditions.  The study mentioned herein, further, was not clinically based but was community-based.  Researchers are interested in conducting clinical-based evaluations in order to better control the mortality rate connected with Severe Sleep Apnea.  Since Cardiovascular Disease is the number one killer within the United States, any research to determine its connection with Severe Sleep Apnea is favored.

Sleep Apnea causes sleepiness throughout the day which makes it dangerous for persons who a) drive a car or b) pilot a plane.  One dangerous incident occurred when a pilot went past a Hawaiian destination during a flight between islands.  This happened after the pilot as well as another of the flight crew dozed off while the plane was set on cruise.  Fortunately, no one was hurt; but the National Transportation Safety Board found that the mishap had occurred due to the fact the pilot suffered from Sleep Apnea (which prior to the incident had not been diagnosed.). 

Since that time, the NTSB has recommended the FAA screen their pilots for symptoms associated with Severe Sleep Apnea.  Whether disease-based or relative to issues associated with driving or piloting, it appears Severe Sleep Apnea is responsible to some degree for higher rates of mortality.