Sleep Apnea, Hypertension, and Their Health Effects

Many people know that hypertension is serious. They know it can have a significant impact on the health of your heart. But not everyone understands that the effects of hypertension don’t stop with your heart. Instead, hypertension can damage almost every system in your body.

And even fewer people understand that sleep apnea is just as dangerous to the body–if not more so–as hypertension. That’s why we want to focus on the negative health impacts that overlap between the two conditions.

THE LINK BETWEEN SLEEP APNEA AND HYPERTENSION

Did you know that sleep apnea is a leading cause of hypertension? In fact, the presence of hypertension is considered to be a characteristic sign of sleep apnea.

How does sleep apnea cause hypertension? Sleep apnea occurs when the airway closes, cutting off the body’s access to air. In response, the brain awakens slightly and orders the heart to pump harder to bring more oxygen to the brain.