Addressing the root cause when sleep apnea is an unexpected driver

We often think of sleep apnea as a condition that affects our sleepy, obese, endemic patients. What has become very clear to me over the years is that this is something that is not being screened for or picked up early enough. Sleep apnea is a huge driver in cardiac death, increasing mechanical stress to the heart, with a single bout of sleep apnea impairing the body’s ability to regulate blood pressure, according to a 2016 study in American Journal of Physiology–Heart & Circulatory Physiology.…