Health Dangers of Sleep Apnea

Raymond C. Perkins, MD, discusses sleep apnea with healthcare professionals during a neuroscience conference.

Does Apnea Kill?	Apnea and Memory	What is Apnea?

Obstructive sleep apnea can be fatal

Armed with the latest information on obstructive sleep anea, the medical director of the ETMC Sleep Disorders Center  has a message for you.

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"Sleep doctors have a concern that primary care physicians don't understand the severe consequences of obstructive sleep apnea and the impact they have globally on a patient's health," said Raymond Perkins, MD, a board-certified physician in sleep medicine. "This is a fatal disease that causes other fatal problems and causes horrible morbidity and mortality."

Does It Kill?
Dr. Perkins has been spreading his message with a presentation titled "Obstructive Sleep Apnea: Does It Kill You? Can Treatment Save You?"

Both questions, Dr. Perkins said, can be answered yes.

"It is the No. 1 cause of high blood pressure, when there is a source for the hypertension," he said. "it is probably one of the major risk factors for stroke, with even just a mild disease doubling the risk the patient has of having a stroke. It certainly is a tremendous risk factor for any kind of heart disease."

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The risks go beyond cardiovascular.

"Now we have information that having sleep apnea is an independent risk factor for the development of and the control of type 2 diabetes," he added.

Some physicians may misunderstand the disease, he said.

"This is not a disease of oxygen levels. This is a disease of frequent waking. The frequent waking induces the stress to the system that produces all of those things," he said.

Doctors may be surprised how frequently sleep apnea occurs.

"The estimages are between 5 percent and 20 percent of the population. We certainly know that in patients older than 60 years of age, at least 20 percent of that population has sleep disordered breathing," Dr. Perkins said.

It strikes all kinds of people. Although the obese are at greater risk, "40 percent of people who have sleep apnea will have a normal body mass index," he said.

CPAP Treatment
The most effective treatment is Continuous Positive Airway Pressure therapy, he said. A CPAP machine delivers air pressure through a small nasal mask that the patient wears while sleeping, allowing normal breathing through the night.

Other treatments are available but not as effective. Oral appliances designed to hold their airway open at night work for about 40 percent of people, he said. Surgery has a lower success rate than CPAP therapy and more risks. It's not clear that drug therapies are effective.

Dr. Perkins said about a third of patients dislike the CPAP machine, so compliance may be an issue. He stressed that the benefits outweight the perceived discomfort: "It's an effective treatment for a fatal disease."

For more in the East Texas region, call 903-531-8079. Individuals in other areas should talk with their doctors.

Go to the ETMC Sleep Disorders Center