Can Women Have Sleep Apnea Without Snoring? A Sleep Doctor's Story | REM OSA & Heart Risk

About this episode

Dr. Valerie Cacho shares her journey of recognizing her own sleep apnea and discusses the unique symptoms and risks for women.

What if a sleep doctor didn't recognize her own sleep apnea? Dr. Valerie Cacho shares her personal journey from diagnosing patients to becoming one—revealing how women's sleep apnea symptoms look nothing like the textbook. In this episode, Dr. Cacho and Dr. Alison Kole dive into why women with "mild" sleep apnea may face serious cardiovascular risks, the unique phenomenon of REM-related sleep apnea in women, and why Asian populations are at higher risk despite normal BMI. Skool community: htt...

People in this episode

Host: Dr. Alison Kole

Guest: Dr. Valerie Cacho

Topics covered

• sleep apnea
• women's health
• cardiovascular risks
• REM-related sleep apnea
• Asian populations
• diagnosis

Keywords

• sleep apnea
• women's symptoms
• cardiovascular risk
• REM OSA
• Asian populations
• BMI
• diagnosis

More episodes of Sleep is My Waking Passion

• Live from London with ENT Sleep Apnea Surgeon Dr. Ryan Cheong · June 10, 2026 · 41 min
• On The Fringe: Sleep Apnea Treatment You Haven’t Heard Of featuring Dr. Audrey Yoon, DDS, MS · May 27, 2026 · 40 min
• Talking Women’s Sleep in Atlanta and Beyond: An Interview with Sleep Legend Dr. Nancy Collop · May 6, 2026 · 28 min
• Sleep Apnea Nearly Killed Me: ‘Out of Breath’ Documentary (with NJ Sleep Doctor Dr. Alison Kole & George Nierenberg) · April 29, 2026 · 23 min
• Is Your Child’s Snoring Dangerous? Red-Flag Signs of Pediatric Sleep Apnea with Sleep Doctor Chris · April 22, 2026 · 27 min
• Better Questions, Better Sleep: Why Smarter OSA Conversations Could Be the Data We’re Missing featuring Dr. Fariha Abbasi-Feinberg · March 18, 2026 · 26 min