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Have you ever woken up short of breath or spent the day feeling fatigued? You might have chalked it up to life with sleep apnea. But sometimes, these symptoms can also be signs of heart disease. Many people have both sleep apnea and heart issues and don’t know it.
Read on to learn how sleep apnea may affect your heart. You’ll also find out why heart health matters and what steps you may be able to take to prevent heart issues.
Sleep apnea is a common condition. Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) — one of the three major types — affects more than 900 million adults worldwide. With OSA, the throat muscles relax during sleep and block airflow to the lungs.
In central sleep apnea (CSA), the brain doesn’t send steady signals to control breathing. The third type, complex sleep apnea, occurs when OSA changes to CSA after a person starts sleep apnea treatment.
Each type of sleep apnea is different, but the symptoms are similar and commonly include:
Heart disease, also called cardiovascular disease, affects nearly half of all adults in the United States. Cardiovascular disease refers to a group of conditions that affect the heart or blood vessels. Common types include:
Symptoms of heart disease depend on the specific condition. However, some symptoms can overlap with sleep apnea, including:
Sleep apnea doesn’t just disrupt sleep — it can also put real strain on your heart. When breathing repeatedly stops during the night, oxygen levels drop, blood pressure spikes, and stress responses are triggered. Over time, these changes can harm your cardiovascular system. Here are several ways sleep apnea may raise the risk of heart problems.
Your body needs a steady supply of oxygen to function properly. If you have sleep apnea, pauses in breathing can lower the oxygen levels in your blood. This is called hypoxia. In response, your body releases stress hormones that raise heart rate and blood pressure to help improve oxygen delivery. Over time, these repeated drops in oxygen — known as intermittent hypoxia — can strain the entire cardiovascular system.
Intermittent hypoxia puts stress on the body and triggers the release of cytokines — immune system proteins that promote inflammation. Chronic inflammation can damage blood vessels over time, making it harder for the heart to pump efficiently and increasing the risk of cardiovascular disease.
Every sleep apnea event causes a temporary spike in blood pressure. Low oxygen levels signal the heart to work harder to circulate blood. If this happens night after night, it can lead to lasting hypertension (high blood pressure), both during sleep and while awake.
The repeated stress from intermittent hypoxia and blood pressure spikes forces the heart to work harder than normal. Over time, this extra workload can increase the risk of structural heart changes and arrhythmias (irregular heartbeats).
Sleep apnea is linked to several forms of heart and blood vessel disease. Understanding these connections helps explain why untreated sleep apnea raises cardiovascular risks. Below are some of the heart conditions most commonly linked to sleep apnea.
OSA is strongly associated with hypertension. Researchers have reported that 36.2 percent of people living with OSA have hypertension. Resistant hypertension — blood pressure that stays high despite taking medication — is also more common in people with OSA.
Atrial fibrillation (AFib) is a type of irregular heartbeat. Sleep apnea increases AFib risk by causing repeated oxygen drops and sudden spikes in blood pressure during sleep. People with OSA and CSA are two to four times more likely to develop AFib, a serious condition that can raise the risk of stroke.
Severe OSA can damage and weaken the heart over time. More severe OSA could signal more severe cardiomyopathy, a condition that can lead to heart failure.
OSA is linked to a higher risk of myocardial infarction (heart attack). Both younger and older adults with sleep apnea are more likely to have a heart attack than those without sleep apnea. Repeated inflammation and blood pressure surges can cause plaque (fatty deposits) to build up in the arteries (blood vessels that carry blood away from the heart). This can narrow the arteries, strain the heart, and increase the risk of a heart attack.
Both OSA and CSA are common in people with heart failure. Research findings show that heart failure occurs in 11 percent to 38 percent of people with OSA and in 28 percent to 82 percent of people with CSA, depending on the study population. Sleep apnea can worsen heart failure symptoms by increasing the heart’s workload during the night.
Sleep apnea, especially OSA, is linked to a higher risk of stroke. Repeated oxygen drops, inflammation, and increased blood clotting can damage blood vessels and raise stroke risk. A “wake-up stroke,” which occurs during sleep and is first noticed upon waking, may be associated with sleep apnea.
Sleep apnea doesn’t only raise the risk of heart disease — it can also make existing heart conditions harder to manage. When breathing repeatedly stops during the night, oxygen levels drop and heart rate and blood pressure spike. These stress responses can carry over into the daytime, making both blood pressure and blood sugar harder to control. This also adds extra strain for people with diabetes, who already have a higher risk of heart disease.
Poor sleep quality from sleep apnea can also take a toll. You may feel fatigued, be short of breath, or notice an irregular heartbeat. Over time, these symptoms may speed up the progression of hypertension, AFib, and heart failure. Sleep apnea can also reduce the effectiveness of some treatments, including medications used to maintain a normal heart rhythm.
Getting evaluated and treated for sleep apnea is an important step in managing heart disease and protecting your overall health.
Treating sleep apnea is an important way to protect your heart and improve your overall health. Research shows that treating sleep apnea can improve many heart-related symptoms and may lower the risk of certain cardiovascular complications. Several treatment options are available.
Continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) is the most effective treatment for OSA. CPAP works by delivering a steady stream of air through a mask to keep the airway open during sleep. Potential benefits of CPAP therapy include:
Small, sustainable lifestyle changes can also help manage sleep apnea and support heart health. These changes may include:
Some people with sleep apnea may benefit from additional treatment options, such as:
These approaches can reduce sleep apnea severity and help support overall cardiovascular health.
If you notice symptoms of heart disease, talk with your doctor. If you’re diagnosed with both heart disease and sleep apnea, your healthcare provider will develop a treatment plan that addresses both conditions and helps lower your risk of complications.
On MySleepApneaTeam, people share their experiences with sleep apnea, get advice, and find support from others who understand.
Has your doctor said you may be at risk of heart disease? Let others know in the comments below.
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