Sleap Apnea Causing Heart Problems

Does anyone suffer from heart problems because of sleep apnea? What does your doctor tell you? Does he tell you its anxiety ,reflux or mental problems because of sensations of chest discomfort?

I have come to the conclusion based on my experience that while a person is asleep and totally not aware of what's going on not breathing air triggers a response where you heart rate accelerates. I think this is from andrenalin. What's the medical name for this response? If the heart has to work harder in oxygen deprived situtation, it weakens or damages the cellular mechanisms for short period of time. Do this over many times a night over several years the effect becomes noticable. The heart develops lowered stamina. I guess this turns to heart failure when the heart stamina is low enough, that is, if you don't suffer a heart attack first.

Anyone have problems standing for periods of time and getting tired in the chest area or tightness in chest? This standing must be just that. Its not walking and moving around.

I assume this damage is permanent, but i would like to be wrong.

The reaction wouldn't be from adrenalin, that's much more likely to happen not only when you're awake, but very alert to the point of reacting instantly to events, like the "flight or fight response" due to high stimulation of some kind, a surprise noise, etc. etc. Don't try to diagnose yourself - please see your doctor and let him decide what's going on, and you should if you're having chest trouble.

Apneas occur when you stop breathing overnight and doing so certainly can damage your heart, but there are various systems involved, and they can be quite complex, not the kind of thing you would be equipped to figure out on your own.

You are not the first to have had your symptoms explained away. Did any heartbeat irregularities show up on your sleep study, or have you worn the Holter monitor? Mine were captured on both, so they weren't in question, but they were not serious. The hard thing is so much of what you describe can happen in the presence of untreated sleep apnea - the anxiety, reflux. Shortness of breath just upon standing sounds to me like you need a thorough workup to rule out cardiac issues and pulmonary issues. They kept testing my heart but it turned out my shortness of breath was due more to my lungs. Do be sure to tell your doctor about this (soon), and fully expect them to run tests (soon) to determine the source of your discomfort.

Here are just a few of the many articles on the PubMed website. Especially read the end of the last article. While some may have had catastrophic damage, over and over on here we read stories of those who have experienced varying degrees of recovery after using CPAP, some nothing short of remarkable. I rarely have the episodes of irregular heartbeat that were once frequent. In my older echocardigram it said there was thickening of the heart wall. The last one reported normal thickness. With diligent use of effective CPAP treatment and making any other needed lifestyle changes, you will get to find out exactly how much improvement there is in your future. Best wishes.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/14532320
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17314035
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16607489

I do say you get boosted by adrenalin from sleep apnea, when you are starved for air (O2), your body thinks it's being choked or drowning, the "flight or fight response" kicks in with boosting the adrenalin, to kick start your systems into responding. I can feel that as it jolts me awake. The real damage is done over time in little parts, the heart walls thickens and becomes less efficent. Blood pressure runs higher. Pulse rate changes usually higher. In the long run the body wears out faster in all area, and it has less time to repair it's self, that's what sleep is for.

I didn't have any heart pain this last heart attack, sometimes you don't. Pain is one warning, but sometimes you don't get a warning. Jim

Looking back 18 years ago I probably did have a heart attack, but never had it checked out. It was under very cold conditions -5 F, working outside alone, itfelt like someone put a spear through my chest. I dropped to the ground in a foot of snow, and laid there for 20 minutes, then made my way back to the shop 200 yards uphill, had coffee and rested 15 minutes, then went back outside to work.

When they did open me up a few years ago, they said a blood vessel had opened,and my body had later grown one to by-pass it. They did a quad on me, that's when they guessed I had sleep apnea, took them 20 minutes in the OR to get a tube in me. Jim

Julie wrote:The reaction wouldn't be from adrenalin, that's much more likely to happen not only when you're awake, but very alert to the point of reacting instantly to events, like the "flight or fight response" due to high stimulation of some kind, a surprise noise, etc. etc. Don't try to diagnose yourself - please see your doctor and let him decide what's going on, and you should if you're having chest trouble.

Apneas occur when you stop breathing overnight and doing so certainly can damage your heart, but there are various systems involved, and they can be quite complex, not the kind of thing you would be equipped to figure out on your own.

Side Note: In Russia there in a Heart Doctor that came up with a way to repair heart chest pain caused be poor blood flow to the heart (not enough O2 getting to the heart to keep the tissue healthy. They built a hospital just to do this treatment. They open the chest expose the heart, sprinkle granulated soap stone on it, sew you up and send you home the same day.

The soap stone acts as a irritant, in it's defense the body makes more blood vessels in the area giving the heart more blood supply.

No I don't know where I read this, due to data loss or being over written in my head. Over time a lot of that has happened... Jim

Ohh, that's a valid method - very similar to putting sand into an oyster shell so a 'real' pearl will form. They may not do it the same way today, but they had the right idea!