If untreated, severe sleep apnea can cause many problems including snoring and daytime sleepiness (which can lead to accidents). It also puts you at higher risk for heart problems.

It can cause arrhythmias, including atrial fibrillation and sudden cardiac death. It can also increase your blood pressure and lead to liver complications.

What is sleep apnea?

Sleep apnea occurs when breathing stops repeatedly during sleep, preventing you from getting deep, restful sleep. These interruptions can also prevent your heart and other organs from getting enough oxygen. Symptoms include loud snoring, gasping and daytime drowsiness.

The most common type is obstructive sleep apnea, in which your airways get blocked. This can be caused by being overweight, having enlarged tonsils or adenoids, a large overbite, and some birth defects like Down syndrome and Pierre-Robin syndrome. People with a thick neck, a narrow airway or chronic congestion may also have this type.

Central sleep apnea is less common, and occurs when your brain fails to send the right signals to your muscles to breathe. It can be caused by medications, hormone changes, certain health problems, and the aging process. It can also be associated with neurological disorders such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS or Lou Gehrig’s disease), stroke, or heart failure. Having this type of sleep apnea increases your risk for high blood pressure, irregular heart rhythms and diabetes.

Symptoms

People with sleep apnea have periods of reduced or stopped breathing, called apneas. These episodes are often accompanied by loud snoring. In severe cases, the breath pauses occur more than 30 times an hour.

These episodes cause your blood oxygen level to drop, which strains the heart and may lead to high blood pressure or irregular heart rhythms. If you have heart disease, repeated episodes of low blood oxygen levels can increase your risk for heart attack and stroke.

In addition, untreated sleep apnea can cause problems such as trouble concentrating or remembering things, mood changes and depression, or an inability to control behavior. If you have symptoms, see your doctor. He or she might ask you about your health history and symptoms and suggest a home or in-laboratory sleep study. The evaluation can tell whether you have mild, moderate or severe sleep apnea and how serious the problem is. Depending on the results, your doctor can recommend lifestyle and other treatments.

Diagnosis

To diagnose sleep apnea, your doctor will ask about your symptoms and perform a physical exam. They may also recommend a home sleep test, which involves wearing a device that tracks your heart rate, oxygen levels and breathing patterns while you sleep in your own bed.

Severe sleep apnea is diagnosed when people have 30 or more breathing interruptions per hour of sleep. These disruptions are usually due to obstructive events, but can occur in any stage of sleep. People with central sleep apnea often wake up feeling short of breath or like they’re choking, and they are at higher risk for high blood pressure, diabetes and heart disease.

Anyone who has loud snoring or extreme daytime sleepiness should see a doctor for a possible diagnosis of sleep apnea. Untreated sleep apnea can put you at risk for accidents and work-related injuries, as well as heart disease and other health conditions. Treatment options include lifestyle changes, mouthpieces or surgery, and medication.

Treatment

Severe sleep apnea can cause long-term health problems, including heart failure and high blood pressure. It also can make you irritable and increase your risk of mental health disorders.

Treatment can ease these symptoms and help you stay healthy. You may need a sleep study to diagnose your condition, either at a clinic or using a device you wear at home.

Obstructive sleep apnea is the most common form of the disorder. It happens when the muscles in your throat relax and fall backward over your windpipe, causing it to narrow or block your airway. You snore as air struggles to pass through the narrowed passage.

Surgery may be an option if other treatments don’t help. During a procedure called uvulopalatopharyngoplasty, surgeons remove tissue from the back of your mouth and throat, including your enlarged tonsils and adenoids. You may also need a tracheostomy, in which a surgeon makes an opening in your neck and inserts a tube to allow breathing.