Sleep apnea is a condition that can cause a person's respiration to temporarily cease during sleep. It originates in a person due to overeating tendencies, creating irregularities with leptin and ghrelin, two hormones related to one's appetite, and causing him/her to go on an uncontrollable eating rampage. The food the body craves in such a condition is inevitably of the unhealthy variety, which leads to a rise in his/her cholesterol levels.

The most dangerous feature of sleep apnea is that it can even afflict people who are not obese. A person's physical build often belies his/her cholesterol levels. The most visible symptoms of sleep apnea are morning headaches, lethargy during the day, depression and snoring loudly.

Sleep apnea can cause hypertension in a person through the rise in cholesterol levels and hormonal inconsistencies, but once it appears, it cannot be treated by simply refraining from overeating. If left untreated, sleep apnea may cause coronary artery diseases, or even result in death through heart failure due to hypertension.

Sleep apnea requires special medical treatment, which allows blood pressure levels to be brought down to normal, reducing excess stress on the heart.