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Considering Sleep Apnea as the silent killer |
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Written by admin
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Wednesday, 13 December 2006 |
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Everyone is familiar with the concept that high blood pressure is a silent killer. In fact you may hardly hear that sleep disorders are also silent killer and so deadly. The word ‘Apnea’ derives from Greek word and refers to the absence of breathing. It refers to periods where a person stops breathing during sleep as a sleep disorder. Early recognition and treatment of sleep apnea is important because it may be associated with memory problems, weight gain, impotency, irregular heartbeat, high blood pressure, heart attack, and stroke.
If you wake up during the night you may have experience with the sensation of choking or grasping for breath. This means you may already be under a threat of a serious condition, a life-threatening sleeping disorder and that is sleep apnea. One cause of obstructive sleep apnea is extra tissue in the back of the throat. This could be something like tonsils that are unusually large. It can also be caused by a decrease in the overall tone of the muscles that are holding the airway open. Another common cause of sleep apnea is the tongue falling to the back of the throat and covering the airway. Generally you can not assume your sleeping disorders rather than observed by others. Loud snoring is the common characteristic of sleep apnea followed by silence, when breathing stops. The silence is then broken with loud choking or gasping as the sleeper momentarily and partially awakens, clears the air passage, and starts breathing again. This pattern will continue throughout the night. The person who suffers from sleep apnea may awaken with headaches almost every morning. Moreover drowsiness and fatigue during the day, irritability due to lack of sleep, and decreased memory are the other symptoms that are suffered by the person with sleep apnea. It has been reported that Sleep apnea affects more than 18 million Americans by the National Institute of Health. These dreadful diseases can take place in all age groups and in both sexes. In fact it is affected to men over the age of forty commonly. Sleep apnea seems to run in some families, suggesting a possible genetic basis. It is important to visit with your doctor. Your physician can refer you to a sleep lab where a diagnosis can be made by qualified medical personnel. You should be diagnosed with obstructive sleep apnea; it is possible that you will be prescribed with a CPAP device – a device called continuous positive airway pressure. Other treatments of sleep apnea include behavioral therapy, physical or mechanical therapy and surgery depending on the cause and severity of the sleeping disorder. For many sleep apnea patients, their spouses are the first ones to suspect that something is wrong, usually from their heavy snoring and apparent struggle to breathe.
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