What can happen to people who suffer from sleep apnea?

What can happen to people who suffer from sleep apnea?

Irshaad Ebrahim (Medical Director of The London Sleep Centre) gives expert video advice on: What is sleep apnea?; How many types of sleep apnea are there?; How can people with sleep apnea be treated? and more...

Sleep apnea is a potentially life-threatening and dangerous <a href="http://www.videojug.com/interview/sleep-disorders-3">sleep disorder</a>. In short, during the course of sleep apnea the airway collapses or is obstructed. There is a porosity of airflow to the lung and as a result our blood is then oxygen-deprived and our body and vital organs are oxygen-deprived during the course of the night. As a direct result of having sleep apnea, one could imagine that the heart will have to work harder in order to pump blood to the vital organs during the night. As a result of that, people with obstructive sleep apnea are likely to develop high blood pressure. There's also a close correlation between having obstructive sleep apnea and developing diabetes. If someone has sleep apnea the associated problems are high blood pressure and diabetes, and the associated problems with high blood pressure and diabetes are an increased risk of heart disease and stroke.