A person with sleep apnea actually stops breathing while sleeping for anywhere from a few seconds to two minutes. This may happen up to several hundred times a night. People with sleep apnea may snore loudly, choke and gasp as they struggle to begin breathing again. Each time breathing stops, blood oxygen levels fall below normal and cause the brain to wake the person, although he or she may not even remember it in the morning.
Sleep apnea can be life-threatening.
It can affect the cardiovascular system, causing shortness of breath and chest pain. It may increase the patient' s risk of heart disease, high blood pressure and stroke. It also may cause sleepiness and fatigue, making the patient more accident-prone at home or on the job. A sleep doctor can determine whether or not a person is likely to have sleep apnea from the patient's sleep history and physical examination. The gold standard for diagnosing sleep apnea is to do a sleep study in which your brain waves, breathing, blood oxygen levels, eye and muscle movements, heart signals and sleep stages are measured.