Which health conditions are associated with sleep apnea? Dr. McPherson: Well you can think about health conditions associated with sleep apnea in two ways. One, which conditions are associated with the cause of sleep apnea; and those kinds of conditions are excessive weight, problems with the airway in some way such as congestion or narrowed nasal passages or tonsils, a small jaw. So those things contribute to the likelihood of sleep apnea. Things that occur as a consequence of sleep apnea are things like increased incidence of high blood pressure, increased cardiovascular problems such as heart attacks, increase in risk of stroke and also, increase in blood glucose levels.