Sleep Apnea and its deadly aftermath

I have recently been diagnosed with mild sleep apnea and decided to do some research and learned it can cause other medical issues such as circulatory and cardiovascular systems. Once I received my results that I had mild sleep apnea (HSI 7) I discussed with my doctor about possibly having a co-existing disease etc I told her about other symptoms I have been living with for 20 years

My symptoms :

Weakness. Reduced ability to exercise. Lightheadedness. Dizziness. Confusion. Shortness of breath.

Because I have done my research I asked her about sleep apnea and co-existing with other diseases causing affecting

We decided to do an EKG. I felt silly doing one because I've been healthy most my life. So I thought. It came back slightly abnormal. So my doctor referred me to a Cardiologist. I'm just being overly cautious

For those of that have been struggling with sleep apnea and have lost hope Have you run other tests such as an EKG or an EEG?

If so would you mind sharing your results.?

We will always struggle with sleep apnea and will have to continue to treat it But there might be other coexisting factors.

I will keep everyone updated!!?

Thanks Nikki

Yes, Nikki, all sorts of tests were run on my heart before a cardiologist suggested a sleep study. So the apnea was manifesting itself in heart PVCs, which have gone away with apnea treatment. Concentration to read also returned. But in the last few weeks, heart is acting up again, 2 echocardiograms last week showed a problem, so seeing cardiologist Monday. Good luck to you.

I try to do 1 hour of cardio exercise per day. I noticed some years ago that my heart rate would reach a certain level and then kind of go wacky - much higher than normal. I talked to my doctor about it and he arranged for a 24 hour Holter test which measures ECG. It came back with slight indications of increased heart rate at times, but he said that it was normal and nothing to be concerned about. I also complained that my resting heart rate seemed higher than it should be. In any case the end result is he changed my blood pressure meds from a ACE inhibitor plus a diuretic to a ACE inhibitor plus a beta blocker. I got a 10% reduction in blood pressure and about 20% reduction in heart rate. Since that time I have become convinced that the exercise machines at the gym I use were not reliable in reporting heart rate. These machines have been replaced and I now never get any indication of wacky heart rates.

Since going on CPAP I have been having some issues with central apnea. I started to get suspicious of the beta blocker possibly being a contributor. I convinced my doctor to cut the dose in half, and things seem to have improved a bit.

I don't think you are being overly cautious. Have you been using a CPAP? Is your AHI good now? Some can suffer from a condition called Upper Airway Resistance Syndrome. Here is a link that has more info on it.

UARS - Stanford Health Care

It may not show up as a high AHI number, but if it is measured and reported in a sleep study, the RDI can be high. A CPAP can be helpful in treating the condition.

I am a dentist working in dental sleep medicine. UARS is a legitimate condition that can have many adverse medical consequences. On the scale of severity doctors consider the continuum to be(from low to high): snoring-UARS-mild OSA-moderate OSA-severe OSA. Certainly CPAP would be a possible treatment, but at this low end of severity an oral sleep apnea appliance would probably be a more rational choice for most people. CPAP is kind of an overkill in this instance and medical insurance will seldom(or, maybe, never) pay for CPAP to treat UARS. Arthur B. Luisi, Jr., D.M.D., The Naples Center For Dental Sleep Medicine.

Is there anyone in the community who couldn't achieve a score of at least 5 or even 7 in the right/wrong circumstance with some creative selection of the data ranges?

Are there credible tests of the long term benefits/risks of CPAP treatment for those in the low ranges with a control group?

Does CPAP at those levels delay progression of apnea or enable it?