Sleep apnea natural history, complications and prognosis

Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1] Associate Editor(s)-in-Chief: Saarah T. Alkhairy, M.D.

Sleep apnea can begin with loud snoring and eventually lead to serious complications. Common symptoms include somnolence, depression, and headaches. More serious complications include cardiovascular diseases, stroke, and hypertension. If sleep apnea is adequately treated, the prognosis is very good. If it is left untreated, patients can develop serious complications and have a poor prognosis.

• Sleep apnea is a progressive disease. Snoring is the earliest manifestation of sleep apnea.^[1]
• Snoring in sleep apnea is often mild at first, but it often progresses as the disease becomes more severe.

• Sleep apnea with heavy snoring is associated with prolonged apneas, followed by choking and gasping^[1]
• As a result, patients develop daytime clinical manifestations, namely somnolence, depression, headaches, and impotence
• If left untreated, sleep apnea may be associated with the development of serious complications, such as hypertension, coronary artery disease, stroke, CHF, and atrial fibrillation

Untreated sleep apnea is associated with the development of the following complications:

• Depression
• Hypertension
• Coronary artery disease
• Stroke
• CHF
• Atrial fibrillation
• Failure to thrive among small children

• If adequately treated, the prognosis of sleep apnea is generally very good
• Sleep apnea during surgery and anesthesia is associated with poor prognosis
• Opioid-induced central sleep apnea is associated with poor prognosis^[2]

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