Sleep apnea is a serious disorder that can lead to a variety of short and long-term side effects. These include snoring, episodes where you stop breathing while asleep, gasping for air during sleep, dry mouth in the morning, and excessive daytime sleepiness.
Fortunately, it is treatable. The
first step is to talk to your doctor.
What is sleep apnea?
Sleep Apnea Searcy
is a common condition in which breathing stops or slows repeatedly throughout
the night. These interruptions in sleep reduce the amount of oxygen that gets
to the body and can cause serious health problems if not treated. If you are
concerned about your sleep habits, talk to your primary care doctor. A sleep
study may be needed. Collom & Carney works with a nationally recognized
sleep lab to perform these studies.
In obstructive sleep apnea, the
breathing pauses happen because the airway becomes blocked. This type of sleep
apnea can lead to snoring, gasping for air while sleeping, and excessive daytime
sleepiness. It can also increase the risk of heart disease, high blood
pressure, diabetes, depression, and stroke. Another type of sleep apnea is
central sleep apnea, in which the brain fails to send the proper signals to the
muscles to breathe. This is more common in people with neuromuscular diseases
such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS, Lou Gehrig’s disease), stroke, or
heart failure.
Symptoms of sleep apnea
Symptoms of both obstructive and
central Sleep Apnea Searcy include a feeling of excessive daytime drowsiness,
difficulty staying awake, memory problems, irritability, poor concentration,
headaches in the morning, and trouble falling asleep at night. Excessive daytime
drowsiness can increase your risk of car accidents, work-related accidents, and
health problems such as heart disease and high blood pressure.
Other symptoms can include loud
snoring that disturbs your partner or other family members, breathing pauses
that others witness (including choking sensations), jerking movements that
happen while you're sleeping, and Cheyne-Stokes respiration, a fast, shallow
breath pattern that causes rapid cycling of the heart rate. Some people with
central sleep apnea experience abnormal heart rhythms such as atrial
fibrillation, which can lead to stroke and sudden death.
If you have these symptoms, your
doctor may order a home or lab test to measure your oxygen levels, heart rate, and breathing during sleep. The test is called a polysomnography.
Diagnosis of sleep apnea
Doctors use the person's history,
physical exam, and symptoms to diagnose sleep apnea. They consider whether the
person has risk factors, such as obesity or high blood pressure, which increase
a person's chance of having Sleep Apnea Searcy. They also look at the person's
family history of having sleep apnea, and they might ask about any medication
the person is taking or has taken in the past.
The primary definitive way to
diagnose sleep apnea is through an overnight test called a polysomnogram or
PSG, which monitors your breathing, heart rate, and oxygen levels while you are
sleeping. The test can be done in a sleep lab or at home with special equipment
that is connected to sensors on your head and body.
Central sleep apnea happens when
the brain fails to send proper signals to the muscles that control breathing.
It is more common in people with neuromuscular disease, such as amyotrophic
lateral sclerosis (ALS, or Lou Gehrig's disease), or in those who have a stroke
or other forms of heart, lung, or heart-related problems.
Treatment of sleep apnea
The treatment depends on the
cause of your sleep apnea. For obstructive sleep apnea, the most common
treatment is continuous positive airway pressure or CPAP. This device uses a
mask to deliver a stream of air that keeps the throat open. Your doctor may
suggest other treatments based on your condition with veneers Searcy ar.
People with central sleep apnea
may need surgery to fix the problems that cause their sleep disorder. This may
include a nasal or oral procedure to help keep the throat open, or surgery to
correct a medical problem that affects breathing, such as enlarged tonsils a
large overbite (abnormally small lower jaw), or a deviated septum.
Untreated sleep apnea can lead to
many health problems, including high blood pressure and heart disease, stroke,
diabetes, depression, fibromyalgia, and osteoporosis. It can also increase the
risk of car accidents and work-related injuries from driving or working while
drowsy. You should see your doctor if you have symptoms of sleep apnea,
especially loud snoring or daytime tiredness.
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