Health

Can sleep apnea kill you?

Can sleep apnea kill you?

The tragic news that the iconic actress Carrie Fisher who acted in Star Wars died at the age of 60 as she was a patient of sleep apnea without getting proper treatment from a sleep apnea doctor, has opened the eyes of multitudes. The question can sleep apnea kill a person acquired momentum after the above-reported case of death.

Dangers of sleep disorders

Carrie Fisher died while she was in a flight suffering a severe heart attack. Report show that she was sleeping during most of the time in the flight and she was suffering respiratory problems during this time. It is not known whether she had knowledge about her disease sleep apnea.  Reports even suggest that even if she was aware of it she had neglected it and did not care to undergo any treatment for the disease at any sleep center. At the end of the flight fisher could not be awaken easily and when she woke up she vomited and slump over and became unresponsive.

The association in America for sleep apnea known as ASAA is not aware whether Fisher is diagnosed with this disease or whether she was taking any medications in this regard.  But this incidence opened the eyes of the authorities and they swiftly started creating awareness among the masses and persuade them to undergo treatment from a sleep apnea doctor if they suspect any sleep related problems.

Some people are arguing that there is no possibility of death to a person afflicted with sleep apnea. When body understands that it is not getting enough oxygen during sleep, it causes awakening in such persons. The airways open during this time and breathing starts resumes. This protects the patient from suffocation during sleep.

But this is not the critical point. There is a wide spread belief these days that people do not die from AIDS alone. This is true about people with diabetes also. Diabetes never forms the single cause for one’s death. But the inevitable complications that accompany diabetics or AIDS can lead to the death of the patient concerned. It is a long process that reduces the quality of life, creates disability and pain that eventually shortens the life span.

Sleeping disorders

Using different words and expressions will never be helpful in changing the real facts. Clinical research shows the possibility of mortality for those who have sleep apnea as it disrupts circadian rhythms and imbalances the chemistry of body and brain and causes interruption in the functioning of respiratory functions and cardiac functions. Blood pressure is elevated and the heart rate is also fastened. It is allowed to continue untreated at a sleep center silver spring, there is no doubt that it will lead to mortality.

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