Hyper Tension Revealed

Pulmonary Hypertension and Sleep Apnea

Sleep apnea can lead to an even more dangerous condition known as pulmonary hypertension. This article examines both conditions, their relationship to each other, and their diagnosis and treatment.

Does your partner snore loudly at night? If so, he or she may suffer from sleep apnea. Sleep apnea, means that a person stops breathing for awhile, often as long as ten seconds or more in his or her sleep. As the person attempts to start breathing again, they may waken briefly or move to a lighter level of sleep. This pattern can repeat itself dozens of times in a single night, leading to extreme drowsiness during the daytime.

Risk factors for sleep apnea include gender (men are at a higher risk than women), obesity, obstructions in the nasal passages, certain disfigurations of the palate and jaw, a thick neck, and regular use of alcohol or sedatives before bedtime.

Symptoms are usually first noticed by the affected person’s lover. The most characteristic symptoms are loud snoring followed by a period of silence and then a snort or a gasp as breathing resumes. Other symptoms include daytime drowsiness, headaches in the morning, memory loss, poor judgment, and irritability.

Diagnosis of sleep apnea requires a sleep study. A sleep study is performed in a sleep lab where the patient is hooked up to different monitors to record heart rate and breathing during the night.

If sleep apnea is diagnosed, there are several available treatments. The most common is a device called a CPAP (continuous positive airway pressure). The person wears a mask attached to a device that provides gentle pressurized airflow throughout the night. This increases the amount of air enough to keep the airway open. Lifestyle changes such as weight loss and cutting back on alcohol before bed may also be suggested.

Sleep apnea is relatively easy to diagnose and treat. If left untreated, however, it can lead to a deadly complication: pulmonary hypertension. Hypertension means high blood pressure. Blood pressure measures the force with which the heart pumps blood through the arteries. Pulmonary hypertension refers specifically to high blood pressure in the arteries that supply the lungs with blood. High blood pressure damages these arteries, causing them to thicken so that less blood reaches the lungs, even as the heart works ever harder to try to force blood through. Pulmonary hypertension can result in damage to both the heart and lungs. Patients with pulmonary hypertension often experience exhaustion, dizziness, and extreme shortness of breath.

Once pulmonary hypertension has developed, treating the sleep apnea will not undo the damage that has already been done. Treatments for pulmonary hypertension include medications to help the heart beat more strongly, thin the blood, remove excess fluids from the body, and treat hypertension. Oxygen is also often prescribed. Pulmonary hypertension may be controlled but not cured. It is a lifelong condition that can severely limit physical activity and even family life, since women with pulmonary hypertension should not risk pregnancy.

If you believe you or a loved one suffers from sleep apnea, see a doctor and get tested before pulmonary hypertension develops and damage to the lungs and heart becomes permanent.