Sleep apnea can cause you to stop breathing during sleep. When you stop breathing, the oxygen levels in your blood go down and carbon dioxide levels go up. This makes your heart and blood vessels work harder and can affect your heart rate and nervous system. This can lead to complications over time,
Low blood oxygen levels during sleep. These low levels as well as other factors such as fragmented sleep may lead to
high blood pressure in the lungs (pulmonary hypertension) and in the rest
of the body (hypertension).1 Nearly 50% of
people who have sleep apnea have high blood pressure.2
Heart failure. Changes in the body caused by sleep
apnea increase the risk of heart failure.3
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