OSA complications

[ElleCee]

Hi,
Has anyone else had further complications from having OSA?
I have been told I have an enlarged heart and have to see a cardiologist in June, has anyone else had the same thing? I was kinda hoping someone would say that on the treatment it can go back to normal size after a while.

Thanks
Lorraine

[gvader]

Hi Lorraine,

I was told that I had an enlarged heart back in 1986, no treatment or anything and I'm still alive 25 years later

[ElleCee]

Hi Gvader,
That is good news indeed!
Did you have any tests or anything?

Lorraine

[cheryl4andy]

it means your more luved up hehehehe

[Tigers Fan]

Ya gotta admire the man!

He's lived a year longer than the rest of us since 1986! When do you celebrate your birthdays, gvader - see what the parties are like and then drop back a year if they are any good, then Back To The Future 65?

[Richard]

Why Sleep Apnoea needs an early diagnosis

Back in 1991 I was diagnosed as possibily having Sleep Apnoea; sleep tests etc. were border-line. Nothing further was prescribed; however, the hospital did say I had an enlarged heart, which I knew about already. The thing about enlarged hearts is that they're subject to producing leaky valves: the valves are no longer making a nice tight fit in the arteries and so the pressure of the freshly oxygenated blood leaving the heart is compromised. You'll never run a four-minute mile or play Rugby for England, but hey-ho, you learn to live with it.

Between 1997 and 2005 my health began to deteriorate; each time I saw the heart consultant I was told 'You have a leaky-valve, it's nothing to worry about'. I was convinced there was more to it than that. Why did I wake up every morning with a dreadful headache? Why did I fall asleep several times a day? Was all that caused by a leaky valve that was nothing to worry about?

In October 2005 I was admitted to hospital with a blood oxymetry of 82%. I stayed there until Christmas. I was diagnosed with Sleep Apnoea and, a new, very serious illness, Pulmonary Hypertension; a terminal illness.

Had I been diagnosed and treated for SA back in 1991, and not been fobbed-off with 'It's only a leaky valve, nothing to worry about' in the intervening years, I would not now have a terminal illness.

So, to answer the question, Sleep Apnoea can lead to other, more serious conditions. But provided those people with Sleep Apnoea keep up with their treatment, the condition can be effectively managed and not lead to further illness.

The lesson to be learned from this is: Sleep Apnoea is not a terminal illness, but left untreated it can lead to acquiring additional symptoms which can be far more serious. Early diagnosis is therefore absolutely vital.

[andysnorer]

Early diagnosis

I totally agree Richard, because my OSA was not diagnosed for at least seven years. My weight increased from 11 stones to 15 stones, blood pressure through the roof, and I have had to give up all of the sports which I used to love. I lost several jobs because of the health issues/side effects (despite going to several doctors, who failed to diagnose OSA), and my marriage has suffered.
I believe that if you catch OSA at an early stage, then the sufferer will be able to carry on as normal, but late diagnosis merely results in multiple associated problems.

Andy