Why Snoring Isn’t Just a Nuisance
If you snore loudly or wake up feeling tired even after a full night’s sleep, it may be more than just a nuisance. It could be a sign of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), a common sleep disorder that can take a toll on your heart.
Sleep apnea doesn’t just affect your sleep; it can affect your heart. When your oxygen dips repeatedly at night, it can raise blood pressure, put stress on your heart, and increase the risk for heart attack, stroke, or irregular heart rhythm (arrythmias).
At NewYork-Presbyterian, we see how treating sleep apnea can make a real difference not just in your sleep, but your heart health.
What is obstructive sleep apnea?
What is obstructive sleep apnea?Obstructive sleep apnea occurs when the muscles in the back of your throat relax too much during sleep. This allows soft tissue to block your airway, making it hard to breathe.
When your breathing stops (apnea) or becomes very shallow (hypopnea), the oxygen level in your blood drops dramatically. The brain quickly wakes you up just enough to reopen your airway. Although you may not recall, these brief awakenings can happen dozens, even hundreds, of times a night.
The stop-and-start breathing can strain your heart and leave your body running on empty. Even if you feel like you slept through the night, your body may not have gotten the deep, restorative sleep it needs.
How sleep apnea affects your heart
How sleep apnea affects your heartEach time your breathing stops, your body reacts as if it’s in danger.
- Oxygen levels fall. This triggers a surge of stress hormones like adrenaline.
- Your heart works harder. Trying to breathe against a blocked airway changes pressure inside your chest and strains the heart.
- Your heart rate swings. It may slow during an apnea episode and then race when you gasp awake.
- Inflammation increases. Ongoing low oxygen can inflame blood vessels and speed up plaque buildup in the arteries.
Repeated episodes like this can wear down your heart and increase your risk for serious heart problems.
Can sleep apnea cause high blood pressure?
One of the clearest ways sleep apnea affects your heart is through high blood pressure.
When oxygen drops, your nervous system tightens blood vessels to push more oxygen to vital organs, which causes blood pressure to spike. In people without sleep apnea, blood pressure naturally dips at night. In people with OSA, it often stays high or jumps repeatedly during sleep.
These nighttime surges can eventually keep your blood pressure higher even during the day.
- Resistant high blood pressure: If you’re taking three or more blood-pressure medications and your numbers are still high, sleep apnea could be part of the issue.
- Long-term effects: Ongoing high blood pressure raises the risk for heart attack, stroke, and kidney disease.
When is snoring a sign of a heart problem?
When is snoring a sign of a heart problem?Not everyone who snores has sleep apnea, but loud, persistent snoring, especially when paired with other warning signs, should not be ignored.
- Pauses in breathing: Silence followed by a gasp, choke, or snort is a hallmark sign of sleep apnea.
- Extreme daytime fatigue: Feeling wiped out despite a full night in bed suggests your sleep is being disrupted.
- Morning headaches or dry mouth: These can be clues that oxygen levels dropped overnight.
If a partner notices these patterns, it’s worth getting checked as most people are not aware that they might have sleep apnea
Can sleep apnea cause atrial fibrillation or irregular heartbeats?
Sleep apnea is closely linked to atrial fibrillation (AFib), a common heart rhythm disorder that raises the risk for stroke and heart failure.
During apnea episodes, pressure changes inside the chest stretch the heart’s upper chambers. At the same time, low oxygen and chemical changes in the blood can disrupt the heart’s electrical system.
Untreated sleep apnea raises the chances of developing AFib. And if you already have AFib, sleep apnea can make treatments like cardioversion or ablation less successful.
Who is at higher risk for sleep apnea and heart disease?
Who is at higher risk for sleep apnea and heart disease?At NewYork-Presbyterian, we evaluate patients using several key risk indicators:
- Weight: Excess weight, particularly around the midsection and neck, can increase your risk for apnea and if you have apnea, it can make it worse.
- Anatomy: Enlarged tonsils, a small lower jaw, or a narrow throat.
- Age/gender: Risk increases with age; men are generally at higher risk, though a woman's risk increases significantly after menopause.
- Medical or Heartconditions such as:
- Diabetes
- Heart failure
- Coronary artery disease (CAD)
- Arrhythmias
By recognizing these overlapping conditions, your care team can screen you more effectively.
This content has been reviewed by the following medical editors.