Heavy Snorers May Be At Risk For Sleep Apnea
Posted by Drnguyen in Diseases and ConditionsSleep apnea literally means, “stop breathing during sleep,” and that is exactly what happens to thousands of people who are affected by the disorder. Millions more are undiagnosed because their symptoms are simply explained away as tiredness or other factors. If someone has sleep apnea, a neurological problem causes soft tissues to repeatedly block the airway during sleep, causing the sufferer to literally gasp for air.
Symptoms and features of sleep apnea include: (1)Excessive sleepiness during the day, lack of concentration, forgetfulness; (2) High blood pressure; (3) Obesity; (4) Loud snoring, snorting or gasping; (5)Irritability; (6) Depression;(7) Excessive sweating at night; (8) Insomnia or restless sleep; and (9) Confusion upon wakening and morning headaches
Usually a partner recognizes symptoms before the patient, because the person sharing a room is all too aware of the loud snoring, a sudden snort or gasp for air, and constant restlessness. Someone with sleep apnea can actually stop breathing for about 10 seconds at a time, up to 400 times in one night!
Sleep apnea can be attributed to physical features, such as a receding chin or large neck, and external factors, such as use of sleeping pills, obesity, nighttime alcoholic beverages, heartburn and high altitudes.
The facts of sleep apnea are: (1)An estimated 18-25 million people have sleep apnea; (2) Less than one million people realize it; (3) Probably 30-40 million people have some kind of sleep disorder and most are unaware of it; (4) Sleep disorders add 15.9 billion to the total health care bill in the United States; (5) Severe sleep apnea sufferers stop breathing more than 50 times per hour; (6) 10% of men of working age, 2% of women and 3% of children have sleep apnea; (7) Obese children are four times as likely to suffer from sleep apnea than children of average weight; (8) African-American children are 3
