Here s what you need to. Sleep apnea and heart attack heart death. Sleep Apnea And Cardiovascular Disease Ppt Download A study in the august 1 issue of the journal sleep shows that people with severe sleep apnea have a much higher mortality risk than people without sleep apnea and this risk of death increases when sleep apnea is untreated. Central sleep apnea death . While central sleep apnea deaths are low when compared to obstructive sleep apnea deaths and occur only in rare cases the risk of death is still present so if you are diagnosed with central sleep apnea start using cpap and other treatments for central sleep apnea. Csa is usually due to an instability in the body s feedback mechanisms that control respiration. Sleep apnea is closely linked to several life threatening conditions. In the wisconsin sleep cohort follow up published in sleep in 2008 42 percent of the deaths in people with severe sleep apnea were due to heart disease. Each pause can last for a few se...