Sleep apnea is associated with a higher risk of stroke, and this risk appears to rise as sleep apnea becomes more severe. According to research, sleep apnea is related to drops in oxygen levels, inflammation, fluctuations in blood pressure and other cardiovascular effects caused by sleep apnea. According to researchers, continuous changes in blood pressure, drops in oxygen levels, and other cardiovascular effects of sleep apnea can contribute to increased sleep apnea stroke risk neurology.
In this blog, you will explore the connection between stroke and sleep apnea, including how treatment helps to protect health. This blog will work for you as a complete sleep apnea stroke risk neurology guide.
Does sleep apnea cause strokes?
It is a sleep-related breathing disorder that causes a person’s breathing to repeatedly stop or slow during sleep. The common type of sleep apnea, obstructive sleep apnea, increases the risk of ischemic stroke, which occurs when the blood vessel that transfers blood to the brain gets blocked.
Obstructive sleep apnea(OSA) and stroke risk
It is the type of sleep apnea that occurs when the upper airway collapses when the person is sleeping. In addition to increasing the risk of stroke, OSA can disturb sleep and cause daytime symptoms like morning headaches, excessive sleepiness and mood swings.
On the basis of research, OSA is an independent risk factor for stroke. This means people with OSA are at higher risk of experiencing stroke, even in the absence of other risk factors. So, not everyone with OSA experiences stroke.
While the reason for this increased risk is still being studied, experts have suggested possible explanations for why people with OSA are at greater risk of stroke.
- Reduced blood flow to the brain
- Limited oxygen
- Defect in heart structure
The risk of having a stroke increases with OSA severity. The severity of OSA is determined on the basis of symptoms and the number of breathing interruptions they experience each night.
- Mild OSA occurs when a person has 5 to 14 abnormal breathing episodes per hour.
- Moderate OSA occurs when a person experiences 15 to 30 episodes of abnormal breathing per hour
- Severe OSA means experiencing more than 30 breathing disruptions every hour.
Having a stroke during sleep
- As 25% of strokes occur when a person is asleep, that condition is known as a wakeup stroke. A person is classified as having a wakeup stroke if they fall asleep feeling normal and the next morning wake up with symptoms of stroke.
- The major reason for the frequency of wakeup stroke is that ischemic stroke occurs more often during rapid eye movement and in early morning hours. This could be due to changes that occur during sleep within the body, including shifts in blood pressure and heart rate.
- However, results from some studies suggest that waking up with a stroke can be linked to sleep apnea.
Sleep-related disorder and stroke risk
- Few studies have investigated the risk of stroke in people with sleep-related breathing disorders, including Central sleep apnea and snoring.
- Snoring is a common experience in adults. According to the results of some studies, snoring increases the risk of having a stroke, and some specialists suggest that snoring can affect the risk of stroke when it occurs along with symptoms of OSA, like excessive sleepiness and pauses in breathing while sleeping.
Can stroke lead to sleep apnea?
Having a stroke increases the risk of various sleep-related breathing disorders, including sleep apnea. Sleep-related breathing disorders are common after stroke and can be caused by stroke itself. A stroke can also make the preexisting sleep apnea a serious condition.
Sleep apnea after stroke
- After a stroke, sleep apnea is common in people, developing within 24 hours. Disordered breathing can be worse if stroke occurs while sleeping.
- OSA is a common type of sleep apnea that develops after stroke. Detecting and treating OSA is a major aspect of medical care after stroke because treatment of OSA improves the person’s recovery and reduces the risk of stroke.
- Central sleep apnea is sleep apnea when the brain is unable to send signals properly to muscles that are responsible for breathing. CSA can be caused by various medical conditions, such as stroke and heart failure.
- On the basis of research, CSA is common within the first five days after stroke, and breathing disturbance can decrease with time.
Cheyne-Stokes breathing after stroke
- It is the breathing pattern that involves a cycle of increased and reduced airflow. When reduction in airflow also involves pauses in breathing while sleeping, then Cheyne-Stokes breathing is considered a type of CSA. It is not as common in the general population, though the exact frequency is unknown.
- After a stroke, 20% of the population develops Cheyne-Stokes breathing, which can be detected immediately after stroke, but it can resolve with time; treatment for either OSA or CSA sleep apnea stroke risk neurology in Ludhiana is provided by the specialists.
Treatment of Sleep apnea reduces the risk of stroke
There are various ways with the help of which people can reduce the risk of having a stroke, including the treatment for sleep apnea that increases the risk of disease. Managing sleep apnea also comes with various health benefits, which include:
- Better sleep quality
- Less daytime sleepiness
- Fewer appointments with the doctor
After a stroke, treatment for sleep apnea can reduce the risk of stroke. Treatment of sleep apnea after stroke helps to improve a person’s recovery, reduce the length of time to spend in hospital and enhance overall well-being.
Conclusion
Leaving sleep apnea untreated does more than interrupt your sleep; the continuous fluctuations in blood oxygen and blood pressure can strain the vascular system over time. By addressing snoring and getting diagnosed by a specialist, Dr. SK Bansal at Neurociti Hospital, you can seek treatment and get answers to all sleep apnea stroke risk neurology questions. With this, you can easily protect your brain health and reduce the risk of a life-altering stroke.
