Just How Deadly is Untreated Sleep Apnea really ?

[Labrat0116]

Yes, I know. This is an issue that folks don't like to talk about but it is a reality of our condition.

Of course each person that has it is different. That's a given.

So, just how deadly is untreated sleep apnea ?

[retired_guy]

Very deadly. Just ask the victims in that bus crash awhile back, or the train accident. "Breaking news, single car accident kills family -- driver apparently fell asleep." That could have been my headline before I began treatment.

Oh, and then there's the heart thing, and the lungs thing, and the diabetes thing, and the gizzard thing, and the thing thing......... The list really gets pretty long.

[retired_guy]

Of course each person that has it is different. That's a given.

p.s..... Just to be clear. I'm not different. I'm the same.

[bwexler]

Slightly less dangerous than Russian Roulette.

Everything that retired guy said plus kidneys, etc.

[retired_guy]

....and then too, if you're an ex-fbi chief you could be at risk of running into a mailbox.

http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/slee...sh-n194956

[surferdude2]

And it can affect your brain..Retired_Guy would have told you that if only...

[surferdude2]

....and then too, if you're an ex-fbi chief you could be at risk of running into a mailbox.

http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/slee...sh-n194956

I hope that wasn't the same mailbox that Agent Larabee (or was that agent 44?) lived in (Get Smart T.V. character).

http://www.imdb.com/character/ch0025506/

[Peter_C]

In my case, untreated OSA almost killed me, and would have killed me had it continued untreated. People need to remember, CPAP is a 'treatment', not a cure. If I stop using my machine, I will surely die at a much younger age than if I continue to use it.

How important/deadly OSA is honestly comes down to each person, how high their untreated AHI is, and how it effects them.

[Masterblast]

Its only been a month and my life has changed dramatically. Huge increase in energy, wakefulness, well being and family life. Plus my wife loves the quietness at night lol. No more being scared driving highway 63 trying to stay awake. Now just to get my body healthy once again!

[archangle]

I don't think there are really good numbers.

Quite a few apneacs go untested and undiagnosed. Apnea doesn't usually kill you directly, it increases your chances of heart attack and stroke. It also degrades your health in general, making you more likely to die of many other direct causes of death. There's also the effects of weight gain and high blood pressure related to untreated apnea.

Even if you are known to have apnea, the death certificate is probably going to indicate heart failure, stroke, or something else as the cause of death and apnea won't show up in the statistics anywhere.

It's like the apnea deniers who ask "what happened to people before they had CPAP?" The answer is "they died peacefully in their sleep."