Why Sleep Apnea Raises Risk of Stroke, Heart Attack

03 May 2011

This mask provides a continuous flow of air into the throat and lungs, making it impossible to experience sleep apnea

This is the VOA Special English Health Report.

(SOUND)

Loud snoring can be a problem -- and not just for other people trying to sleep with the noise. It can also be a sign of sleep apnea. People with this condition repeatedly stop breathing while they sleep, and may not even know it.

Doctor David Gross is a lung specialist at the National Rehabilitation Hospital of Washington.

DAVIS GROSS: "Sleep apnea means that the airway, the upper airway, cuts off at night. So the person, while he's breathing normally in the daytime, when he goes to sleep, the muscles get all relaxed and cut off and this can happen over and over again, sixty to one hundred times an hour."

Most people who snore do not have sleep apnea. But doctors say most people with sleep apnea do snore. Sleep apnea not only reduces sleep quality and makes people feel tired during the day. More and more studies show that it can also lead to strokes and heart attacks.

Dr. Michael Twery of the National Institutes of Health explains why.

MICHAEL TWERY: "Whenever we run out of enough air to breathe, it sends alerting signals to our minds. It raises the level of stress hormones. It tells our heart to work harder."