May 22, 2007 - Bad enough by itself, sleep apnea can lead to
worse things -- such as serious car wrecks, heart disease,
diabetes, and pregnancy complications. The findings point to a
growing awareness that sleep apnea contributes to a wide range
of public health problems. All of the studies were reported at
this week's annual meeting of the American Thoracic Society in
San Francisco. Obstructive sleep apnea is caused by a narrowing
or collapse of throat tissues during sleep. Blood-oxygen levels
plummet, and the body responds by sending out a flood of
hormonal emergency signals. The sufferer wakes, sometimes 30 or
more times an hour, his or her body in full "flight or fight"
mode. "That does a number on your sympathetic nervous system,"
Yale researcher Nader Botros, MD, MPH, tells WebMD. "It is as if
you were waked at night because a saber-toothed tiger was
chasing you." This obviously prevents a good night's sleep and
results in daytime sleepiness. But it also means that repeated
stress signals take their tol