|
Obstructive Sleep Apnea
 Obstructive Sleep Apnea
Obstructive sleep apnea occurs when the airway completely collapses blocking airflow into the lungs. The harder one tries to breathe, the tighter the airway seals. This airway obstruction persists until the brain partially awakens the person. Unconsciously, he/she will close the jaw returning the tongue and throat to normal position. |
- With the increasing obesity trend in America more and more people are being diagnosed with OSA.
- OSA is as prevalent as diabetes and/or asthma.
- In the short run, OSA can lead the patient and his sleep partner fatigued and with poor concentration the next day.
- The Journal of American Medical Association (JAMA) reports that people that snore have three times as many motor vehicle accidents as non-snorers.
- Because of their lack of concentration due to loss of sleep, patients with OSA have an increased risk of loss of employment.
- Due to both sleep partners having sleep loss there is increased irritability and marital discord.
- The reason that the patients with OSA have fatigue in the morning is because they never reach the restorative level of sleep that is required.
- Restorative sleep occurs only when one relaxes into deep slow-wave sleep as well as REM or dream sleep. With snoring and sleep apnea, the constant waking up due to the inability to breathe prevents the patient from reaching this dream sleep.
- Patients with OSA can wake up as many as 50 times per hour gasping for air without realizing it in the morning.
- In the long run OSA can lead to:
- Hypertension (30 - 40%)
- Stroke
- Heart Disease
- Gastric Reflux
- Sexual Dysfunction
- Fatigue
- Depression
One of the reasons that the heart is strained during Obstructive Sleep Apnea is due to Hypopnea. |
