Can OSA directly kill you?

admiralross · Post by **admiralross** » Fri Sep 21, 2007 11:33 am

Hello All!

Sorry if this sounds like a stupid question. Can OSA kill you? Example. You go to take a nap one day. You stop breathing and you don't wake up. Can it get that bad that you just stop breath and your body just doesn't startup again.

Snoredog · Post by **Snoredog** » Fri Sep 21, 2007 11:41 am

People die in their sleep all the time, I personally know of 2 people that seemed healthy and they died in their sleep.

One was thin and 31 years old, the other about 45 yrs old also not overweight.

If you stop breathing and the heart fails as a result of OSA sure it can kill you. Untreated it can lead to a stroke and that can kill you.

msheda · Post by **msheda** » Fri Sep 21, 2007 11:44 am

In infants it has been linked to SIDS.

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Fri Sep 21, 2007 11:48 am

If OSA doesn't, your spouse very well might.
B.

papdaddy · Post by **papdaddy** » Fri Sep 21, 2007 11:48 am

It was a factor in the death of Reggie White former NFL football player . See link http://www.21stcenturydental.com/smith/ ... eWhite.htm

Rich

admiralross · Post by **admiralross** » Fri Sep 21, 2007 11:56 am

Snoredog wrote:People die in their sleep all the time, I personally know of 2 people that seemed healthy and they died in their sleep.

One was thin and 31 years old, the other about 45 yrs old also not overweight.

If you stop breathing and the heart fails as a result of OSA sure it can kill you. Untreated it can lead to a stroke and that can kill you.

Untreated, sleep apnea can cause many serious health problems including high blood pressure and other cardiovascular disease, headaches, memory problems, weight gain, increased risk of stroke and diabetes, gastric reflux and impotency. It also can cause excessive sleepiness during the daytime.

I had a physical this year in Feb. All was normal. Out of the above I do have headaches, weight gain, excessive sleepiness during the daytime.

goose · Post by **goose** » Fri Sep 21, 2007 12:03 pm

If apnea won't kill you directly, all the complications created by having it not diagnosed certainly will.....As I said in another post, nobody get's out of this alive, something is going to kill us all eventually -- why not work to extend the ride???

It makes me wonder whether the inability to wear the mask is physiological, psychological or just plain vanity.

Personally, I don't find it all that bad and I am somewhat claustrophobic (getting worse with age as is my fear of heights). I have an example of 3 different masks -- nasal pillows (EVO Headrest/Aura), nose cover (ComfortGel) and Full Face (HC431) -- I am able to use all without anxiety, but I realllllllly want the treatment to be successful because I'm tired of being tired!!!!!

cheers
goose

johnnygoodman · Post by **johnnygoodman** » Fri Sep 21, 2007 12:08 pm

Greetings,

I think the simple direct answer to your question is no, Sleep Apnea will not kill you directly like a bullet, a long fall off a tall building or anything equally as morbid and sudden. Your body will always force you to wake up enough to breathe if it has the strength left to do it.

However, it will kill you slowly by over taxing your body's organs. Many who die of heart attacks or strokes do so because of undiagnosed Sleep Apnea.

If you are walking along and have a heart attack, would you say the heart attack directly killed you? Many say yes, a heart attack is like a bullet. I say no, the heart attack itself went quickly but the reason it happened was likely built into years of untreated Sleep Apnea.

One of the hot topics in the sleep industry right now is how much of a contributor to heart attack and stroke Sleep Apnea is. Initial results indicate sleep apnea is a big factor.

So then, if you don't treat your sleep apnea, will you die tomorrow from it? No. Will you die eventually from it? Yes. Will you likely die much sooner than you otherwise would have if you decide to leave it untreated? Yes.

Johnny

Bamalady · Post by **Bamalady** » Fri Sep 21, 2007 12:31 pm

Background The risk of sudden death from cardiac causes in the general population peaks from 6 a.m. to noon and has a nadir from midnight to 6 a.m. Obstructive sleep apnea is highly prevalent and associated with neurohormonal and electrophysiological abnormalities that may increase the risk of sudden death from cardiac causes, especially during sleep.

<snip>

Results From midnight to 6 a.m., sudden death from cardiac causes occurred in 46 percent of people with obstructive sleep apnea, as compared with 21 percent of people without obstructive sleep apnea (P=0.01), 16 percent of the general population (P<0.001), and the 25 percent expected by chance (P<0.001). People with sudden death from cardiac causes from midnight to 6 a.m. had a significantly higher apnea–hypopnea index than those with sudden death from cardiac causes during other intervals, and the apnea–hypopnea index correlated directly with the relative risk of sudden death from cardiac causes from midnight to 6 a.m. For people with obstructive sleep apnea, the relative risk of sudden death from cardiac causes from midnight to 6 a.m. was 2.57 (95 percent confidence interval, 1.87 to 3.52). The analysis of usual sleep–wake cycles showed similar results.

Conclusions People with obstructive sleep apnea have a peak in sudden death from cardiac causes during the sleeping hours, which contrasts strikingly with the nadir of sudden death from cardiac causes during this period in people without obstructive sleep apnea and in the general population.

http://tinyurl.com/2qntpl

So what did these people die from? Cardiac problems or Apnea? From the conclusion reached, it would seem that it is Apnea since the time of day varies from the general population.

roster · Post by **roster** » Fri Sep 21, 2007 12:35 pm

....... a long fall off a tall building .........

You will live longer falling off a 100-story building compared to a 50-story building.

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Fri Sep 21, 2007 12:44 pm

It's not the long fall. It's the sudden stop..

AdmiralCougar · Post by **AdmiralCougar** » Fri Sep 21, 2007 12:49 pm

goose wrote: Personally, I don't find it all that bad and I am somewhat claustrophobic (getting worse with age as is my fear of heights). I have an example of 3 different masks -- nasal pillows (EVO Headrest/Aura), nose cover (ComfortGel) and Full Face (HC431) -- I am able to use all without anxiety, but I realllllllly want the treatment to be successful because I'm tired of being tired!!!!!

cheers
goose

I'm dedicated to make this work too, but I'm also claustrophobic. I could barely make myself put on the nose masks (Comfort Gel and F&P 406) I have even with the problems each of them presented I still made myself put them on it was hard, but I did it. I don't have the same problem with the OptiLife I have on loan until my 6 month Mask replacement allowance. I so don't know what I'm going to do when I get a cold or my Allergies are bad enough I can't clear out my sinuses, because I don't think I can possibly wear a full face mask. Maybe I could knock myself out and have my husband put it on after I'm unconscious... of course then I'll probably just have a panic attack when I wake wearing it

Now Apnea killing... My second cousin had OSA she stopped using her CPAP and she fell asleep one night and never woke up. She wasn't very old she was around 50 when she passed and wasn't extremely overweight either. There was no other cause she just stopped breathing. I miss her very much and wish I would of known she had stopped using her CPAP because I would of encouraged her to start using it again. I didn't find out till after the funeral that was what had happened. She had many years more she could of shared with us had she continued her therapy.

Christy

oceanpearl · Post by **oceanpearl** » Fri Sep 21, 2007 2:07 pm

I have a friend in Jersey who's neighbors death was ruled "died from obstructive sleep Apnea".

jla930 · Post by **jla930** » Fri Sep 21, 2007 2:22 pm

AdmiralCougar wrote:My second cousin had OSA she stopped using her CPAP and she fell asleep one night and never woke up. She wasn't very old she was around 50 when she passed and wasn't extremely overweight either. There was no other cause she just stopped breathing. I miss her very much and wish I would of known she had stopped using her CPAP because I would of encouraged her to start using it again. I didn't find out till after the funeral that was what had happened. She had many years more she could of shared with us had she continued her therapy.

Christy

(Sniff) How sad. I've been told that death resulting from OSA is "rare but happens". So if it happens to one single person that it didn't need to happen to, it kind of makes CPAP worthwhile.

AdmiralCougar · Post by **AdmiralCougar** » Fri Sep 21, 2007 6:27 pm

jla930 wrote: (Sniff) How sad. I've been told that death resulting from OSA is "rare but happens". So if it happens to one single person that it didn't need to happen to, it kind of makes CPAP worthwhile.

Well said.

Now if I could only get my father to start using his machine again... Silly man the VA does right by him and he just shoved his machine under his bed. Not even sure if we could find everything for it now. Been kicking around at least 7 years. My mom literally wont sleep in the same bed with him anymore for fear of waking up with him passed on. She made them get separate beds. The idea creeps her out. But nothing we say to him makes that stubborn old man change anything he doesn't want to.

Christy

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