Table of ContentsView AllTable of ContentsSleep Apnea and AnesthesiaConcernsAfter SurgeryRisk FactorsTalk to Your ProviderFrequently Asked Questions
Table of ContentsView All
View All
Table of Contents
Sleep Apnea and Anesthesia
Concerns
After Surgery
Risk Factors
Talk to Your Provider
Frequently Asked Questions
Sleep apneais a condition that causes people to stop breathing during sleep. The lapses in breathing can significantly lower sleep quality, decrease oxygen levels, and lead to serious health consequences.
Anesthesiais a common treatment used before surgery to keep a person asleep during the procedure. Sleep apnea can make anesthesia a lot riskier.
This article explains how anesthesia can affect people with sleep apnea, both before and after surgery. It discusses the risks they may face and how healthcare providers evaluate those risks.
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How Sleep Apnea Affects Anesthesia
Sleep apnea causes abnormal breathing during sleep.Sleep studiesshow that breathing can become restricted or even stop in people with sleep apnea. The intermittent breathing interruptions can disrupt sleep throughout the night.
General anesthesia relies on a combination of different medications to put people to sleep for surgery or other procedures. While under general anesthesia, people are entirely unconscious. They do not feel pain and are unaware of what is happening.
General anesthesia can suppress upper airway muscles. This means it can reduce breathing, slow down your breathing rate, and decrease oxygen levels. For this reason, general anesthesia can be dangerous for people with sleep apnea.
Sleep apnea can also make it harder to wake up from surgery and take breaths.
Types of Sleep ApneaThe two types of sleep apnea are obstructive sleep apnea and central sleep apnea.Obstructive sleep apneais when a person’s upper airway is intermittently blocked, reducing or stopping airflow.Central sleep apneais a much less common condition, in which thebraindoesn’t signal the lungs to breathe.
Types of Sleep Apnea
The two types of sleep apnea are obstructive sleep apnea and central sleep apnea.Obstructive sleep apneais when a person’s upper airway is intermittently blocked, reducing or stopping airflow.Central sleep apneais a much less common condition, in which thebraindoesn’t signal the lungs to breathe.
The two types of sleep apnea are obstructive sleep apnea and central sleep apnea.
Concerns Related to Surgery
Sleep apnea is such a common condition in the United States that between 22% and 82% of all adults who undergo surgery have it.
With such a high prevalence, people with sleep apnea should be aware of the following potential problems related to surgery:
Concerns After Surgery
Your healthcare team may continue to treat you withcontinuous positive airway pressure(CPAP), a common sleep apnea treatment, following surgery.
Factors that make people more likely to have sleep apnea include:
Healthy lifestyle changes you can make to prevent sleep apnea include:
Causes and Risk Factors of Obstructive Sleep Apnea
Talk to Your Healthcare Provider
If you have sleep apnea and will be having surgery, it’s crucial to talk to your healthcare provider about how anesthesia may affect you. You may also want to research the effects and risks of sleep apnea and anesthesia before visiting your healthcare provider. Bring your notes with you to your appointment.
Questions you may want to ask include:
Your healthcare provider will also be able to answer questions about how anesthesia may affect you after the procedure, based on your specific medical history.
If you have recently been diagnosed or suspect you may have sleep apnea, you may also want to ask your provider additional questions, such as:
Sleep Apnea Symptoms and Early Warning Signs
Summary
Sleep apnea causes abnormal breathing and restricts breathing during sleep. The continuous cessation of breathing interrupts sleep throughout the night and leads to chronic daytime sleepiness and other health issues.
Since general anesthesia can suppress upper airway muscles and reduce breathing, it may also increase sleep apnea occurrences and decrease oxygen levels during surgery. Sleep apnea can also make waking up from surgery more difficult.
Sleep apnea during surgery also puts people at a higher risk for cardiac or respiratory issues during surgery. It can increase the need for intensive care treatment following surgery.
A Word From Verywell
Having surgery can be frightening, but it’s essential to be screened for sleep apnea before surgery to help reduce potential complications. Talk to your healthcare provider about your medical history and what you can do before surgery to reduce your risks.
Frequently Asked QuestionsIt is possible to die while sleeping if you have sleep apnea. Researchers have found that sleep apnea causes abnormal heart rhythms, which in some cases can lead to sudden cardiac death. Sleep apnea is also a risk factor for other health conditions like heart disease and heartarrhythmias.Heart disease is the number one cause of death for adults in the United States.People with sleep apnea are at a higher risk for some postoperative problems that could potentially cause death, including:Postoperative airway obstructionComplications arising from other health problemsPostoperative “hypoxia,” or low oxygen levelsIncreased risk for respiratory failure and cardiac issuesPeople with sleep apnea snore loudly and have intermittent periods of silence where their breathing slows or completely stops.A CPAP machine or oral appliance can reduce sleep apnea symptoms, but they cannot cure it. The only way to stop sleep apnea is to lose weight and maintain a healthy weight, or undergo surgery to remove extra tissue from the throat or palate.
It is possible to die while sleeping if you have sleep apnea. Researchers have found that sleep apnea causes abnormal heart rhythms, which in some cases can lead to sudden cardiac death. Sleep apnea is also a risk factor for other health conditions like heart disease and heartarrhythmias.Heart disease is the number one cause of death for adults in the United States.
People with sleep apnea are at a higher risk for some postoperative problems that could potentially cause death, including:Postoperative airway obstructionComplications arising from other health problemsPostoperative “hypoxia,” or low oxygen levelsIncreased risk for respiratory failure and cardiac issues
People with sleep apnea are at a higher risk for some postoperative problems that could potentially cause death, including:
People with sleep apnea snore loudly and have intermittent periods of silence where their breathing slows or completely stops.
A CPAP machine or oral appliance can reduce sleep apnea symptoms, but they cannot cure it. The only way to stop sleep apnea is to lose weight and maintain a healthy weight, or undergo surgery to remove extra tissue from the throat or palate.
8 SourcesVerywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Stansbury RC, Strollo PJ.Clinical manifestations of sleep apnea.J Thorac Dis. 2015;7(9):e298-310. doi:10.3978/j.issn.2072-1439.2015.09.13American Society of Anesthesiologists.General anesthesia.National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute.Sleep apnea.Fassbender P, Herbstreit F, Eikermann M, Teschler H, Peters J.Obstructive sleep apnea-a perioperative risk factor.Dtsch Arztebl Int. 2016;113(27-28):463-9. doi:10.3238/arztebl.2016.0463Wolfe RM, Pomerantz J, Miller DE, Weiss-Coleman R, Solomonides T.Obstructive sleep apnea: Preoperative screening and postoperative care.J Am Board Fam Med. 2016;29(2):263-275. doi:10.3122/jabfm.2016.02.150085Blackwell JN, Walker M, Stafford P, Estrada S, Adabag S, Kwon Y.Sleep apnea and sudden cardiac death.Circ Rep. 2019;1(12):568-574. doi:10.1253/circrep.CR-19-0085Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Heart disease facts.Sleep Foundation.How weight affects sleep apnea.
8 Sources
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Stansbury RC, Strollo PJ.Clinical manifestations of sleep apnea.J Thorac Dis. 2015;7(9):e298-310. doi:10.3978/j.issn.2072-1439.2015.09.13American Society of Anesthesiologists.General anesthesia.National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute.Sleep apnea.Fassbender P, Herbstreit F, Eikermann M, Teschler H, Peters J.Obstructive sleep apnea-a perioperative risk factor.Dtsch Arztebl Int. 2016;113(27-28):463-9. doi:10.3238/arztebl.2016.0463Wolfe RM, Pomerantz J, Miller DE, Weiss-Coleman R, Solomonides T.Obstructive sleep apnea: Preoperative screening and postoperative care.J Am Board Fam Med. 2016;29(2):263-275. doi:10.3122/jabfm.2016.02.150085Blackwell JN, Walker M, Stafford P, Estrada S, Adabag S, Kwon Y.Sleep apnea and sudden cardiac death.Circ Rep. 2019;1(12):568-574. doi:10.1253/circrep.CR-19-0085Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Heart disease facts.Sleep Foundation.How weight affects sleep apnea.
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.
Stansbury RC, Strollo PJ.Clinical manifestations of sleep apnea.J Thorac Dis. 2015;7(9):e298-310. doi:10.3978/j.issn.2072-1439.2015.09.13American Society of Anesthesiologists.General anesthesia.National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute.Sleep apnea.Fassbender P, Herbstreit F, Eikermann M, Teschler H, Peters J.Obstructive sleep apnea-a perioperative risk factor.Dtsch Arztebl Int. 2016;113(27-28):463-9. doi:10.3238/arztebl.2016.0463Wolfe RM, Pomerantz J, Miller DE, Weiss-Coleman R, Solomonides T.Obstructive sleep apnea: Preoperative screening and postoperative care.J Am Board Fam Med. 2016;29(2):263-275. doi:10.3122/jabfm.2016.02.150085Blackwell JN, Walker M, Stafford P, Estrada S, Adabag S, Kwon Y.Sleep apnea and sudden cardiac death.Circ Rep. 2019;1(12):568-574. doi:10.1253/circrep.CR-19-0085Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Heart disease facts.Sleep Foundation.How weight affects sleep apnea.
Stansbury RC, Strollo PJ.Clinical manifestations of sleep apnea.J Thorac Dis. 2015;7(9):e298-310. doi:10.3978/j.issn.2072-1439.2015.09.13
American Society of Anesthesiologists.General anesthesia.
National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute.Sleep apnea.
Fassbender P, Herbstreit F, Eikermann M, Teschler H, Peters J.Obstructive sleep apnea-a perioperative risk factor.Dtsch Arztebl Int. 2016;113(27-28):463-9. doi:10.3238/arztebl.2016.0463
Wolfe RM, Pomerantz J, Miller DE, Weiss-Coleman R, Solomonides T.Obstructive sleep apnea: Preoperative screening and postoperative care.J Am Board Fam Med. 2016;29(2):263-275. doi:10.3122/jabfm.2016.02.150085
Blackwell JN, Walker M, Stafford P, Estrada S, Adabag S, Kwon Y.Sleep apnea and sudden cardiac death.Circ Rep. 2019;1(12):568-574. doi:10.1253/circrep.CR-19-0085
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Heart disease facts.
Sleep Foundation.How weight affects sleep apnea.
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