Your snoring can be an alarm to an unhealthy heartbeat: Listen carefully

A loud snoring sound is no music to anyone’s ears, especially if there is someone who shares the room with you. There are chances that your snoring is just a breathing sound and would not cause any threat to your health but not always this is the case with snorers. Snoring becomes a matter of concern for a person when he/she repeatedly stops breathing for short stretches multiple times during his/her sleep. This pattern signifies that the snoring is a part of a more serious condition called obstructive sleep apnea (OSA)¹ .

OSA can lead to many health problems like cardiovascular diseases and can even be life-threatening if not provided with the right medical condition on time. Out of many health problems associated with OSA high blood pressure or hypertension is also the one. Researchers have proven time and again, how high blood pressure can lead to OSA or worsen the breathing pattern in patients already suffering from sleep apnea. Sleep apnea has been found highly relevant to high blood pressure. Almost 50% of the times these two conditions were found co-existing in patients. Also, OSA has been proven as the second most prevalent contributor to high blood pressure².

During an OSA episode, there is a surge in systolic and diastolic pressure that can elevate the blood pressure during the night time. At times the blood pressure can remain elevated even in during the day when the breathing is normal. This daytime surge in the blood pressure is a result of overactivity in the sympathetic nervous system and vascular function and structure alterations due to inflammation and oxidant stress³. This repeated phenomenon of disturbed blood pressure pattern can turn into a sustained health condition causing hypertension if the treatment is not provided at the right time.

Treatment of OSA includes the continuous airway pressure devices to regulate the breathing and abolishing apnea and thereby, preventing periodic arterial pressure surges also reinstating nocturnal dipping pattern. The treatment significantly benefits the daytime blood pressure problems too⁴. This is the reason it is very important to go for OSA screening to evaluate conditions like high blood pressure. A treatment is best effective when provided at the right time or stage of a medical condition, so make sure that you do not ignore your symptoms and seek professional advice at the earliest.