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  • Q&A with Australian Health Practitioners

    Is sleep apnea dangerous if untreated?

    Related Topics
    Sleep Apnoea Sleep Medicine
    • 2 answers
    • A/Prof Larry Kalish
    • Dr Matthew Broadhurst
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    A/Prof Larry Kalish

    Ear Nose and Throat (ENT) Surgeon

    YES.
    Sleep apnea has been associated with increased blood pressure (hypertension) and increased risk of heart disease (cadiovascular disease) with possible links with irregular heart rate (ventricular arrhythmias) and sudden death. Depression may be aggrevated, and your chance of having an accident is increased. Just a few reasons to have it treated!

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    Dr Matthew Broadhurst

    Ear Nose and Throat (ENT) Surgeon

    Dr Matt Broadhurst is a fellowship trained laryngeal surgeon specialising in laryngeal surgery and voice restoration. He returned to Brisbane from Boston, Massachusetts in 2007 … View Profile

    Yes is the simple answer.  There are strong ties to hypertension, cardiac disease, stroke, irregular heart rthymns and even sudden death.  There are also links between daytime somnolence(sleepiness) and accidents(motor vehicle, work etc) and the daytime sleepiness is a common symptom of obstructive sleep apnoea.

    Keep in mind, there are also very effecive ways to treat this which must start with a very careful upper airways assessment done usually, by an ENT surgeon.  The options then can be a breathing machine called CPAP(continuous positive airway pressure) or a range of highly effective soft tissue surgery procedures designed over the last 5-10 years or so.

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