Treating sleep apnea may help those. 1 department of medicine suny downstate brooklyn ny united states. Sudden Cardiac Arrest Arrhythmia Alliance International Long term untreated sleep apnea can cause impairments in. Can sleep apnea cause arrhythmias . Osa is associated with a number of cardiovascular effects such as hypertension 3 4 metabolic syndrome 5 and heart failure 6 osa was recently associated with increased cardiovascular mortality 7 8. 19 in a substudy of the sleep heart health study 9 individuals with severe sleep apnea ahi 30 had four times the odds of having af or 4 02 95 ci 1 03 15 74 and three times the odds of having non sustained ventricular tachycardia or 3 40 95 ci 1 03 11 20 compared with individuals without osa even after adjusting for possible confounding factors. Atrial fibrillation and sleep apnea. There is a strong link between arrhythmia and sleep apnea. Heart problems are one of the most common causes of sudden death that occurs during sleep. Th...