If left untreated, sleep apnea can result in a number of health problems including hypertension, stroke, arrhythmias, cardiomyopathy (enlargement of the muscle tissue of the heart), heart failure, diabetes, obesity and heart attacks.

It’s likely that sleep apnea can cause arrhythmias and heart failure because if you have sleep apnea, you tend to have higher blood pressure. In fact, sleep apnea occurs in about 50% of people with heart failure or atrial fibrillation.

This is because sleep apnea can cause:

• Repeated episodes of oxygen lowering (what doctors call hypoxia).
• Changes in carbon dioxide levels.
• Direct effects on the heart due to pressure changes within the chest.
• Increased levels of markers of inflammation.

With the high prevalence of sleep apnea in cardiac arrhythmias and heart failure (essentially a coin flip as to whether the patient has it), experts recommend that you don’t delay in seeking the advice of your physician.