Sleep Apnea Linked With Stroke

Researchers have conducted studies and they have found a link between sleep apnea and stroke. Stroke as already mentioned in my previous article is a condition, which results in either loss of speech or paralysis of the limbs and this just turns the life upside down.

According to this new research, sleep apnea is linked to stroke. Sleep apnea is a condition in which there is a period in which the respiration stops for a few seconds and then the individual starts breathing again. During sleep apnea, there are multiple times when there is stopped breathing and are called as apneic episodes in medical terms.

A link between sleep apnea, strokes and heart attacks have been established in the early 1970s, and it has been mentioned that they often happen together, but that does not mean that there is a cause and effect relationship.

A study was conducted to see whether sleep apnea potentiates the risk of stroke. In this study there were a total of 1475 participants. The results of this study showed that there were 22 people who had stroke and in them there were five individuals who had severe sleep apnea.
The researchers also mentioned that people having sleep apnea has a risk greater than four times of having a stroke even if the risk factors for stroke, which are high blood pressure, smoking, diabetes etc. are controlled.

Thus the study concluded that people who have sleep apnea have 3.5 to 4 times greater chances of having a stroke than people who do not have sleep apnea.

Thus the people who have been identified with sleep apneic episodes must be very diligent to follow the guidelines that are being explained to them to correct the sleep apnea in order to prevent stroke, as this can leave the person paralyzed for life and ultimately a pretty long-term rehab to learn to live with the disabilities and perform activities of daily living, but still this is a pretty long process that one has to go through.


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