Why Should Sleep Apnea Be Diagnosed and Treated

Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is a common disorder, and it is likely that there are a large number of undiagnosed patients. Although the primary pathophysiologic events occur during sleep, OSA causes adverse daytime multisystem dysfunction. These sequelae affect the patients' life physically and psychosocially, and in severe cases, they may be life threatening. Treatments can reverse most of these sequelae. This report reviews the effect of treatment on these sequelae. Some of the severe complications may not be reversible. The goal of treatment is to prevent the repetitive upper airway obstructions during sleep, and thus reverse the severe sequelae and restore the patient's quality of life. Although nasal continuous positive airway pressure (nCPAP) is the treatment of choice for OSA, this approach has many problems and is still far from ideal. A large number of patients treated with nCPAP are not compliant and so remain subject to the severe sequelae.