Because sleep apnea symptoms happen at night when the patient is asleep, many don't realize they are affected and can go years, even a lifetime, suffering from the condition and not knowing it.
People who suffer from sleep apnea can have one or more pauses in breathing or shallow breaths while they sleep. It can also be accompanied with loud snoring, or snorting. The erratic sleeping/breathing pattern can put serious stress on the heart, because the pauses cause the flow of oxygen to the vital organs to slow (or even stop) for a few seconds, which makes the heart pump harder.
The effects of sleep apnea start to erode your body, which can eventually lead to stroke.
According to a recent study out of the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is associated with an increased risk of stroke in middle-aged or older Americans. Additionally, according to the National Sleep Foundation, 18 million people in the U.S. suffer from sleep apnea and many of them don't know it!
What a frightening statistic!
The study followed approximately 5500 participants, aged 40 years and older without a history of stroke, for an average of nine years. During that period a total of 193 participants had a stroke - 85 men (of 2,462 enrolled) and 108 women (out of 2,960 enrolled).
Men diagnosed with moderate to severe sleep apnea were nearly three times more likely to have a stroke than men without sleep apnea or men with mild sleep apnea.
But in women, it was different. The increased risk of stroke in females was significant only in women with severe levels of sleep apnea. The increased risk of stroke from sleep apnea depended on other risk factors the women had such as weight issues, smoking, race, diabetes, and high blood pressure.
Researchers believe that because men are more prone to have sleep apnea earlier in life, the risks of stroke are much higher than in women, who usually suffer from sleep apnea when they are pregnant, overweight, or going through menopause.
The findings of the recent study provide compelling evidence that OSA is a risk factor for stroke, especially in men. Most importantly, the study found that increased stroke risk in men occurs even with relatively mild levels of sleep apnea. The next step for this project is clinical trial studies to help scientists determine if treating sleep apnea can lower a person's risk of stroke and other diseases.
So how do you know if you have sleep apnea, or just a snoring problem? If you have a partner who notices you are snoring heavily and gasping for breath as you sleep, or if you wake up in the morning and find you can't function during the day due to excessive fatigue, sleep experts recommend you talk to your Medical Doctor and/or Dentist...that's right...your Dentist!
There are several treatment options available through both M.D.'s and Dentists. It's up to the patient to make the first move and ask to be tested.
Because sleep apnea has no pain, many people think it can't hurt them. But, research continues to show that sleep apnea can and will hurt your body - especially if it goes undetected.
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1 comment:
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