Sleep apnea actually good for you

[zonk]

Interesting interview on the ABC Science Show in which an Israeli scientist Peretz Lavie talked about the benefits of sleep apnea in older people. Listen and to the audio and decide for yourself
http://www.abc.net.au/radionational/prog...le/4274482

Sleep apnoea or snoring is quite prevalent. Some people can wake up to 400 times a night. More than 50% of people aged above 60 have more than 15 events/hour of sleep. Sleep apnoea is known as a risk factor for many conditions including heart disease and insulin. But Peretz Lavie now suggests there are benefits in sleep apnoea. He has discovered that mortality risk lessens with age. In 20-30 year-olds, there is a 10 times mortality risk with sleep apnoea. But there is no risk for people over 50. People suffering a heart attack recover much faster when they experience sleep apnoea. Following a heart attack, stem cells rush to the damaged area and build new blood vessels. Those with apnoea have more stem cells and they work more efficiently. Peretz Lavie compared elderly heart attack victims. Those with sleep apnoea lived longer. It is thought the apnoea prepares the heart for the massive heart attack. This brings into question whether treatment for sleep apnoea for older patients is advisable
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Periodic breathing cessation during slumber can lengthen seniors’ lives.
http://www.jpost.com/HealthAndSci-Tech/H...?id=171421

Peretz Lavie
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peretz_Lavie

[Sleepster]

Well, first you have to become older. Sleep apnea makes that harder to do.

And who would want to live longer that way?

Winston Churchill once said that if a man would avoid alcohol, tobacco and women he could live to be 100. But it would seem like 200.

[PaulaO2]

It's long been known that the younger the person, the harder it is to survive a heart attack. The heart has more blood vessels to itself the older you are so there's more blood getting to the heart muscles. So this isn't exactly news.

Basically what they concluded is because older folks have more blood vessels, their body can better adapt to lower blood oxygen. However, I don't think they adequately addressed the direction of healthy to begin with vs unhealthy in terms of study participants.

Then there's the "They say it won't kill me" door they just opened.

[Cutter]

I'm now over 60. I had my first heart attack at 50. I had bypass surgery a year later. I had my second heart attack a few years after that. I was diagnosed with Sleep Apnea between the bypass surgery and the second heart attack. I would choose to continue CPAP therapy just because I feel better rather than stop because my heart doesn't need it. I hope the folks at Medicare don't listen or read this stuff.

[mjbearit]

It's a theory..... I'll take a pass. We all have to decide what is right for us, having been on both sides of the fence twice, my decision has been made.

[archangle]

Maybe the weak people with apnea die off earlier. Only those with really good healing capabilities live that long despite untreated apnea.

However, maybe there is something to be discovered here. High CO2 levels? Hormones?

[SamWong2012]

Quote: "
The researchers suggest that the hearts of elderly sleep apnea patients get blood from a larger number of arteries – called collaterals – that develop by angiogenesis due to the lack of oxygen supply, than the hearts of patients without sleep apnea. This additional blood supply protects them if they suffer a heart attack, the Lavies write."

What is the implication of this finding?
Does it mean if I am over 50 with a AHI of 50, I don't need to wear the CPAP anymore?

I am over 50 and have beening wearing the CPAP for about one year, does it mean I'm losing this ability of creating these collaterals as a result of CPAP usage?

[StuUnderPressure]

Quote: "
I am over 50 and have beening wearing the CPAP for about one year, does it mean I'm losing this ability of creating these collaterals as a result of CPAP usage?

NOT creating those collaterals IS a GOOD thing.

They are only created when your heart is not getting enough blood & therefore oxygen to where it needs it.
They are often noticed only when someone goes in to have either stents or a bypass.

Besides, those collaterals are very tiny.
You are much better off with your natural heart arteries.