How Dangerous Is Untreated Moderate Sleep Apnea?

How dangerous is untreated moderate sleep apnea? Untreated sleep apnea at any level of the condition is dangerous, and when you begin to think about the side effects or symptoms that can develop over extended periods of time, the risk you’re taking by not having the condition treated is a significant one.

If you think you may have sleep apnea, no matter at what level, you should talk to your doctor immediately about available treatments. Sleep apnea is diagnosed when your body stops breathing during sleep, typically as many times as 15 times per hour.

Moderate sleep apnea involves more than just snoring as a symptom. The danger of untreated moderate sleep apnea is that sufferers who don’t have their condition treated as soon as possible run the risk of suffocating in their sleep or falling asleep while driving an automobile if the sleep apnea is not treated or if the sleep apnea worsens over time. Moderate sleep apnea can be fatal if left untreated.

Symptoms and Dangers of Moderate Sleep Apnea

The individual with moderate sleep apnea may sound like they are snoring. The individual with sleep apnea will also stop breathing and then gasp for breath. With obstructive sleep apnea, the individual's throat closes, they stop breathing and then they gasp for breath. With central sleep apnea the brain doesn’t signal to the body that a breath needs to be taken. Because of this, rather than snoring, the individual may simply stop breathing in his or her sleep.

Usually the lack of oxygen in the bloodstream is enough to make the brain kick start the system enough to make the person take a quick breath, but over time the body can become so used to the process it simply becomes too relaxed to recover. 

Treatments for Moderate Sleep Apnea

The most effective treatment for sleep apnea is called a CPAP machine. It’s a small machine that uses a mask over the patient’s nose to push a pressurized air stream into the patient’s airways, keeping the patient's airwaves open, alleviating any sleep apnea symptoms.

The symptoms of sleep apnea can also be helped by weight loss which can lessen the fat deposits in the throat which constrict the airway of the patient while sleeping.

The doctor may also recommend a change in sleeping habits, requesting that the patient begin training himself to sleep on the left or right side of the body rather than the stomach or back. This helps to reduce the compression on the chest cavity, and usually helps to open the airways that are usually restricted by the soft tissue in the patient’s throat.