The Basics Of Sleep Apneas Effect On The Heart
Sleep apnea can come in two forms. Central sleep apnea, the rarer form, happens when signals from the brain that instruct the breath are interrupted during sleep. The more common form is obstructive sleep apnea, where soft tissues constrict the airway and it collapses during sleep.
The first evidence of a connection between heart health and sleep apnea is how often cardiovascular disease and sleep disturbance shows up in the same individuals. One study found that 50 percent or more of cardiovascular patients have sleep apnea, compared to less than 5 percent in the overall population ^1. Another study determined that patients with both heart failure and sleep apnea died at twice the rate of those with just heart failure ^2.
Further evidence of the connection comes from the fact that central sleep apnea, while rare in the general population, commonly occurs in patients with heart failure ^3.
Sudden cardiac death is also more likely to strike sleep apnea sufferers during their sleeping hours, exactly the time of day when sudden cardiac death is least likely to hit people without sleep apnea ^4.
Generally the worse the apnea, the greater the risk, says Virend Somers, M.D., who directs the Cardiovascular Facility and the Sleep Facility within Mayo Clinics Center for Clinical and Translational Science and was senior author on that study.
What Health Conditions Are Linked To A Lack Of Sleep
Adults who sleep less than 7 hours each night are more likely to say they have had health problems, including heart attack, asthma, and depression.3 Some of these health problems raise the risk for heart disease, heart attack, and stroke. These health problems include:
- High blood pressure. During normal sleep, your blood pressure goes down. Having sleep problems means your blood pressure stays higher for a longer period of time.4 High blood pressure is one of the leading risks for heart disease and stroke. About 75 million Americans1 in 3 adultshave high blood pressure.5
- Type 2 diabetes. Diabetes is a disease that causes sugar to build up in your blood, a condition that can damage your blood vessels. Some studies show that getting enough good sleep may help people improve blood sugar control.6
- Obesity. Lack of sleep can lead to unhealthy weight gain. This is especially true for children and adolescents, who need more sleep than adults. Not getting enough sleep may affect a part of the brain that controls hunger.6
How Soon After Treatment Will I Feel Better
The time it takes to recover or feel better after treatment for sleep apnea depends on the treatments themselves. Some people will feel better almost immediately, while others may need three to six months of consistent nightly treatment to see the full benefits. Your healthcare provider can tell you more about the timeline for your recovery and when you should expect to feel better.
Devices that treat sleep apnea, especially positive airway pressure devices, often bring very fast results. Older devices may take some tweaking and adjusting of the settings, but many newer devices can often adjust automatically to meet your needs .
While some people may need to get used to wearing a mask to sleep, most people can overcome that fairly quickly. Many people see improvements immediately when they sleep through the night using a positive airway pressure device.
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Hrv Changes Due To Hypoxia
Exposure to hypoxia is a leading cause of oxidative stress, inflammation, and sympathetic hyperactivity . Recurrent oxygen desaturation induced by sleep apnea, one of the distinct features of OSA differing from non-OSA, may be associated with elevated sympathetic nervous activity and blood pressure . Additionally, Watson et al. found that the severity of hypoxia is related to graded autonomic dysfunction. Both animal and human experiments demonstrated that the failure to restore cardiovascular adjustment capacity can be ascribed to impaired nerves and blunt responses of the autonomic system as a result of intermittent hypoxemia in OSA . A systematic review shows that either SpO2 or SaO2 used to assess arterial oxygen saturation is correlated with time-frequency HRV during hypoxia in normal people at rest . Botek et al. found lower arterial oxygen saturation in significantly reduced vagal withdrawal and increased sympathetic-vagal balance, suggesting SpO2 level is related to the reaction of autonomic control to hypoxia. Their aim was to investigate if HRV could be used as a predictor of SpO2 response to hypoxic challenges in subjects normoxic at rest. Nevertheless, it is admitted that changes in detailed HRV parameters are not consistently similar due to the varying experimental protocols .
How Much Sleep Do I Need
Most adults need at least 7 hours of sleep each night.1 However, more than 1 in 3 American adults say they dont get the recommended amount of sleep.2 While this may be fine for a day or two, not getting enough sleep over time can lead to serious health problemsand make certain health problems worse.
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Hypopneas May Be Measured Differently
Most experts agree on the standard definition of an apnea as a reduction in airflow of at least 90%. Hypopneas are more subjective, since they occur when your airways partially collapse. As a result, there is no standard measurement for what counts as a hypopnea.
Experts have experimented with defining hypopneas according to a certain percentage of decreased airflow, coupled with associated changes in blood oxygen levels or arousals from sleep. However, there is no set definition, and as a result, different definitions of hypopnea can lead to different AHI scores.
Iv Sleep And A Healthy Heart
There are many things you can do to keep your heart healthy. You should be sure to do the following:
- Eat a balanced diet
- Watch out for and treat high blood pressure
- Get regular medical check-ups
Another thing you can do is to make sure that you get enough sleep to keep your body well rested. You can often sleep better by simply following the practices of good sleep hygiene. Sleep hygiene consists of basic habits and tips that help you develop a pattern of healthy sleep. See the Resources section of this site to find out how you can start down the path to better sleep.
Watch for signs that you may have a sleep disorder. Obstructive sleep apnea is a sleep disorder that can put great stress on your heart. Men who are overweight and have large necks are most likely to have OSA.
Symptoms of OSA include the following:
- Gasping for breath or choking while asleep
- Trouble staying awake during the daytime
You may not be aware of these signs because they only occur while you are sleeping. Your breathing is normal when you are awake. Ask a bed partner or someone else who has observed your sleep to find out if you snore or stop breathing during your sleep.
If your doctor thinks that you have a sleep disorder, he or she may suggest that you take a sleep study. This is called a polysomnogram. A sleep study is usually done overnight in a sleep center. It charts your brain waves, heart beat, and breathing as you sleep. It also records your eye and leg movements as well as muscle tension.
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What Tests Will Be Done To Diagnose Sleep Apnea
The most common tests for sleep apnea include:
- Home sleep apnea testing. This form of testing allows a person to complete a sleep study from home. Its similar to an overnight sleep study, but doesn’t involve brain wave monitoring. This test cant diagnose central sleep apnea, and its usually not an option when providers suspect more severe sleep apnea, or if you have other sleep disorders or medical conditions. Often, when a home study doesnt show sleep apnea, experts recommend confirming this with an overnight sleep study.
The Predictive Value Of Holter Monitoring In The Risk Of Obstructive Sleep Apnea
Miaochan Lao1, Qiong Ou1, Cuie Li2, Qian Wang1, Ping Yuan3, Yilu Cheng4
1Department of Sleep Center, Department of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Guangdong Provincial Peoples Hospital/Guangdong Academy of Medical Sciences/Guangdong Provincial Geriatrics Institute , Guangdong Provincial Peoples Hospital/Guangdong Academy of Medical Sciences/Guangdong Cardiovascular Institute , China 3Department of Sleep Center, Department of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Guangdong Provincial Peoples Hospital/Guangdong Academy of Medical Sciences/Guangdong Provincial Geriatrics Institute/The Second School of Clinical Medicine, Southern Medical University China 4Department of Sleep Center, Department of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Guangdong Provincial Peoples Hospital/Guangdong Academy of Medical Sciences/Guangdong Provincial Geriatrics Institute/Medical College, South China University of Technology , , China
Contributions: Conception and design: Q Ou Administrative support: Q Ou Provision of study materials or patients: All authors Collection and assembly of data: M Lao, C Li, Q Wang, P Yuan Data analysis and interpretation: M Lao, Q Ou Manuscript writing: All authors Final approval of manuscript: All authors.
Correspondence to:
Methods: Patients suspected of OSA underwent Holter monitoring with concurrent PSG at a sleep center. Respiration and heart rate variability indices were calculated from the Holter and compared with PSG indices.
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Understanding Resting Heart Rate
Your resting heart rate, or RHR, is how many times your heart beats in one minute while you are at rest. Its both a gauge of your heart health and a biomarker of aging, its one of the simplest and best measures of your health.
A healthy resting heart rate is about 60 beats per minute, but this number varies with age. The normal range for a resting heart rate is between 60 bpm and 100 bpm. Well-conditioned athletes, however, could have a resting heart rate of around 40 bpm. Generally, a lower heart rate at rest implies more efficient heart function and better cardiovascular fitness.
There are many factors that determine your resting heart rate at any moment. These factors include the time of day, your activity level, and your stress level. Keep in mind that the factors that can influence resting heart rate, including:
RHR generally increases with age. Checking the resting heart rate chart below to see how you compare to your age group.
Average resting heart rate for women by age.
Resting heart rate, heart rate variability, and blood pressure are all important measures of heart health. Your resting heart rate is the number of times your heart beats per minute. Heart rate variability is a measure of the variation in the time between consecutive heartbeats. Lastly, blood pressure is the force of blood flowing through your blood vessels.
Parameters Of Holter And Psg
There were no adverse events from performing the Holter monitoring or PSG. According to the PSG monitoring results, AHI 15 was used as the diagnostic criterion for an OSA diagnosis, with 40 cases, including 38 males and 2 females, meeting this criterion 23 cases, including 14 males and 9 females, did not meet the OSA diagnosis criterion.
According to the above criterion, patients were divided into two groups: OSA and non-OSA. The total time of apnea events and the ratio of the apnea events time to the recording time were the major parameters derived from Holter respiratory waveforms and were both significantly greater in the OSA group than in the non-OSA group. Conversely, the HRV parameters, SDNN-24 h, SDANN index, rMSSD, pNN50, and HF were all significantly lower in the OSA group than in the non-OSA group .
Figure 1Table 2
Correlation analyses revealed that each of the Holter parameters that were found to be significantly different between the OSA and non-OSA groups was correlated with each of the PSG parameters AHI, ODI, SpO2_M, SpO2_L, T< 90%, and T< 90%/Ts . This suggested that Holter-recorded apnea events and HRV indices were highly consistent with PSG-recorded OSA severity and oxygenation impairment.
Table 3
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How Sleep Apnea Affects Your Life
Most people with sleep apnea experience these results:.
- Interrupted sleep and daytime fatigue.
- Increased threat of heart attack, stroke, and type 2 diabetes.
- Risky driving and office mishaps.
And they can cause:
- Depression. Anxiety can trigger a multitude of symptoms. One of the most typical symptoms is excessive drowsiness, linked to sleep apnea, lack of oxygen or snoring.
- Poor memory and intellectual function. Sleep apnea and its effect on memory and intelligent function is a prevalent problem..
- Greater danger of losing a task or getting fired. Sleeping well is one of the most essential aspects of preserving psychological and physical health. Research studies reveal that individuals who support a healthy sleep schedule are less most likely to lose their jobs or get fired due to absences. Sleep apnea, defined by abnormal stops briefly in breathing or shallow breaths throughout sleep, can cause victims to feel exhausted the next day and make them more prone to getting fired.
- Relationship problems with your partner or spouse. It is common for relationships to suffer when one or both partners struggle with sleep apnea. The loud snoring, sleep interruption, and daytime fatigue can take a toll on the relationship. It is important to get treatment for your partner if they are suffering from sleep apnea. Otherwise, you may find yourself residing in a cycle of chronic anger, anxiety, and animosity.
How Does Sleep Affect Your Heart Rate
- By , Executive Editor, Harvard Heart Letter
Even if you dont wear a smartwatch or fitness band to track your heart rate, you can often sense your pulse fluctuating throughout the day. During your waking hours, the number of heartbeats per minute when youre just sitting quietly is known as your resting heart rate. In most adults, resting heart rates range between 60 and 100 beats per minute.
Once you stand up and move around, your heart rate goes up. And exercise boosts it further still. Even intense emotions fear, anger, or surprise can cause your heart rate to spike. But what happens when you lie down to sleep? The answer differs depending on the phase of sleep: light sleep, deep sleep, or rapid eye movement sleep.
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What Sleep Conditions Can Hurt My Heart Health
Over time, sleep problems can hurt your heart health.
Sleep apnea happens when your airway gets blocked repeatedly during sleep, causing you to stop breathing for short amounts of time. Sleep apnea can be caused by certain health problems, such as obesity and heart failure.
Sleep apnea affects how much oxygen your body gets while you sleep and increases the risk for many health problems, including high blood pressure, heart attack, and stroke. It is more common among Blacks, Hispanics, and Native Americans than among whites.7
Insomnia refers to trouble falling sleep, staying asleep, or both. As many as 1 in 2 adults experiences short-term insomnia at some point, and 1 in 10 may have long-lasting insomnia.8 Insomnia is linked to high blood pressure and heart disease. Over time, poor sleep can also lead to unhealthy habits that can hurt your heart, including higher stress levels, less motivation to be physically active, and unhealthy food choices.
For better sleep, get enough natural light, especially earlier in the day. Try going for a morning or lunchtime walk.
Influence Of Sleep Apnea On Hrv During Sleep
Figure 1. Depicts an example of the changes in beat-to-beat intervals in an obstructive sleep apnea subject with and without the presence of apneic events and a healthy subject during stage 3 sleep in the supine position.
Figure 2. Shows an exemplary illustration of the respiratory power index and electrocardiograph-derived respiration methods in an OSA patient. Overnight electrocardiograph recordings are processed and cut into limited time segments. EDR signals are calculated via ECG respiration embeddings such as QRS complex or respiratory sinus arrhythmia . Spectrograms of both embeddings are also generated . These spectrograms are normalized and averaged to amplify the respiration-based component and mask non-respiration-related power . The power is calculated at each step with two selection events . A respiratory flow shows corresponding events to the power spectrum . The number of detected apneic events is the RPI.
There are thus a variety of tools and combinations that appear to have potential in the detection and classification of apnea.
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High Resting Heart Rate
A resting heart rate greater than 100 bpm is considered tachycardia, which is often correlated with increased risk of cardiovascular diseases due to chronic additional work placed on the heart. According to Healthline, tachycardia can be caused by anxiety, fatigue, electrolyte imbalance, overconsumption of alcohol or caffeine, drug use, or other underlying medical conditions.
The negative effects of a high resting heart rate were demonstrated in astudy conducted by Copenhagen University Hospital. This study found a strong correlation between patients with higher resting heart rates and risk of death, specifically a 10% increase risk of mortality for every additional 10 bpm.
Sleep Apnea Cardiovascular Risk And Metabolism
Several studies have shown an association between sleep apnea and problems like type 2 diabetes , strokes , heart attacks and even a shortened lifespan, says Jun. Why this connection? For one thing, obesity is common in sleep apnea patients, and obesity greatly increases risks of diabetes, stroke and heart attack, he says. In most cases, obesity is the main culprit behind both conditions, Jun explains.
Still, its important to note that not everyone with sleep apnea is obese. Furthermore, evidence suggests an independent link between sleep apnea and diabetes. Our lab and others have shown that sleep apnea is associated with higher risks of diabetes, independent of obesity, and that sleep apnea can increase blood sugar levels, says Jun.
For people who are overweight or obese, weight loss is key for treating or avoiding sleep apnea. People who accumulate fat in the neck, tongue and upper belly are especially vulnerable to getting sleep apnea. This weight reduces the diameter of the throat and pushes against the lungs, contributing to airway collapse during sleep.
Women in particular should be careful as they age. While premenopausal women tend to put on weight in the hips and in the lower body instead of the belly, this shifts with time. Weight begins to accumulate in traditionally male areas like the tummy, and this leads to a greater chance of sleep apnea.
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