Sleep apnea is a sleep disorder that has to be taken seriously and is a condition which will disappear by itself with time. Sleep apnea is in fact classed as a "progressive disease" which means that just like cancer, diabetes and heart disease it gets worse over time. There is considerable debate within the medical community about the effect which sleep apnea has on other medical problems. This said, there is a definite link between sleep apnea and a number of physical conditions including hypertension, heart failure, heart attack, diabetes, stroke, pulmonary hypertension and kidney failure.

Researchers are looking more and more at why these health problems are connected with problems erupting in the upper airways of people suffering from sleep apnea. Of course it is well known that cigarette smoking, alcohol abuse and being overweight are important factors in sleep apnea and in turn lead to a greater chance of developing heart disease and hypertension. However it is not clear why a lot of people who do not have any of these elements in their lifestyle still suffer from sleep apnea.

Whenever there is a cessation of breathing during a sleep apnea episode the bloodstream shows higher carbon dioxide levels and decreased oxygen levels. As a consequence, a number of both physical and chemical changes takes place within the body which then increases the risk of other problems being seen.

In sleep apnea sufferers who are also overweight doctors have found that they have high levels of immune factors known as tumor necrosis factor-alpha and interleukin. High levels of both of these factors can result in serious inflammation in the body that can result in cell damage, especially within the arteries. In one study it was demonstrated that people with elevated levels of tumor necrosis factor-alpha had shortness of breath, excessive tiredness and weak heart pumping. It should be noted however that at this time no clear causal relationship has been established between obstructive sleep apnea and heart disease.

Many studies have been done to study sleep apnea and hypertension and a connection has been found between the two. For example, a study undertaken in 2000 looked at patients over a four year period and reported that the more apnea episodes they experienced in the first year the greater was the possibility of developing hypertension by the third or fourth year. Even amongst those who snored or experienced mild sleep apnea there was a small but nevertheless higher than normal association with hypertension.

Previously the link between high blood pressure and sleep apnea was considered to be strongly connected to obesity. But recent studies are pointing to the fact that hypertension is seen particularly in people who have sleep apnea regardless of what their weight is.

Blood pressure affects sleep apnea simply because it varies enormously during repeated sleep apnea episodes. These variations are also related to changes by way of sudden surges which occur within the sympathetic nervous system. The sympathetic nervous system controls involuntary muscles and especially those which occur the heart and blood vessels. It is strongly believed that as time passes these variations may play a significant part in the development of permanent and long term hypertension.