Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), sometimes called sleep apnea, is decreased air flow into your body during sleep. It causes periods of not breathing while you are sleeping. This can lead to increased rates of hypertension (HTN), stroke, heart attacks and death.
50-70% of stroke and heart attack (MI) patients have sleep apnea, which is strongly associated with causing and worsening these diseases. Sleep apnea is considered a modifiable risk factor. This means if you can treat your sleep apnea your death, heart attack, stroke and high blood pressure risk go down.
This common and easily treated disease is often diagnosed after seeking treatment for snoring and being fatigued.
Over 3 million people are diagnosed with OSA every year in the United States. People of all ages, including children, can develop OSA. But it is increased with increasing age and weight.
It not only causes problems for the patient but also for the patient’s partner or anyone in close quarters with them. They may suffer from the same side effects as the person with OSA due to being kept up by the snoring such as fatigue, memory changes and obesity. Lack of sleep itself can have serious consequences on your health.
Symptoms of OSA:
- Daytime fatigue/waking up not feeling rested
- Snoring
- Bed wetting or getting up more at night to urinate
- Obesity-obesity can be a cause of and be caused by OSA
- Headaches, especially in the morning
- Waking up at night gasping for air
- Sleeping sitting up such as in a recliner or on more pillows than usual
- Change in mood and memory-can’t concentrate or becoming depressed or irritable
- Sore throat
- Daytime or night-time mouth breathing
- Teeth grinding
- Decreased sex drive
- Dry mouth
Causes of OSA:
- Obesity/overweight
- Nasal obstruction/narrow airway
- Chronic congestion
- Smoking
- Family history
Treatments of OSA:
- Weight loss-diet and exercise
- Quit smoking any product
- Elevating the head of the bed
- Ear/nose/throat treatments/evaluation-oral devices
- Surgical
- Cpap or bipap machine-this is a face or nasal mask worn while sleeping that creates pressure to force air into the lungs.
- Sleeping on your side
- Decreasing or stopping alcohol consumption
Diagnosis of OSA:
Obstructive sleep apnea is diagnosed by a sleep study. These can be done at home or in a medical setting. You will be hooked up to machines that monitor your breathing and oxygen levels, among other parameters, while your are sleeping. Your healthcare provider will evaluate the results and discuss the next steps with you. OSA is a very common cause of strokes, HTN and death that can easily be treated and prevented. Talk to your healthcare provider today if you have any of the above symptoms or concerns!