If you think you have Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA), get attention immediately.
A sufferer can completely stop breathing numerous times per hour. It can lead to dangerous instances in your everyday life or even death in extreme cases. It is a slow, persistent drain on your quality of life.
Obstructive Sleep Apnea is gaining tremendous attention as an acute public health concern. A study by the Institute of Medicine reports that 50 to 70 million Americans suffer from disorders of sleep and wakefulness. One in five car accidents is associated with driver sleepiness.
How does sleep apnea occur?
Sleep apnea, from the Greek, means “without breath.” Breathing pauses can last several seconds to minutes and occur as often as 30 times or more per hour.
- OSA occurs when the muscles and tissue surrounding the throat relax too much during sleep. This blocks the airway from collapsing and prevents air from reaching the lungs. Frequently, the tongue falls into the back of the throat, tightening the blockage and preventing oxygen from entering the lungs.
- The blockage causes the blood’s carbon dioxide levels to skyrocket and oxygen levels to decrease. Therefore, the heart has to pump harder and faster to compensate for the lack of oxygen.
- At some point during this blockage, the brain (hopefully!) senses an imbalance. It partially awakens you so you can reestablish the flow of oxygen. This cycle repeats constantly throughout the night, causing you to never get a restful sleep.
- A heart attack can occur if your vascular system is too stressed or the brain doesn’t notice this imbalance soon enough.
- The brain sends a message to the body, telling it to wake up and restart breathing. People with sleep apnea are partially awake as they struggle to breathe. Usually, they also hear loud snorting or choking noises.
- People with sleep apnea are often unaware they have a sleeping disorder. They’re rarely fully awake and aware when these things happen. Therefore, their sleep apnea may remain undiagnosed.
Does sleep matter?
The Quality of Your Sleep Affects Everything
Sleep plays a vital role in good health and well-being throughout life. Getting enough quality sleep helps protect mental and physical health, quality of life, and overall safety.
How you feel while awake depends greatly on what happens while you sleep. During sleep, your body supports healthy brain function and maintains physical health.
In children and teens, sleep also helps support growth and development. The damage from sleep deficiency can occur in an instant (such as a car crash), or it can harm you over time. For example, ongoing sleep deficiency can raise your risk for some chronic health problems. It also can affect how well you think, react, work, learn, and get along with others.
- Your brain suffers if it can’t go through the proper sleep stages overnight. This can compromise things like your short-term memory.
- Your body is often deprived of oxygen when you’re sleeping with sleep apnea. This impacts the vascular system as well as your brain.
Does sleep apnea go away on its own?
No. It is extremely rare for this serious condition to go away on its own without medical intervention. The only way to truly beat sleep apnea involves tissue removal.
You can either lose weight or get surgery to remove excess tissue. We can help you control your symptoms and protect your overall health. Dr. Harper can also advise you on ways to fix sleep apnea naturally.
Diagnosis and Treatment
It can be difficult to realize that you have sleep apnea. If you have a partner or roommate, they may be able to tell you if they notice you snoring at night.
You may also consciously wake yourself up, realize you were snoring, and wake up with a noise. You might notice headaches when you wake up and experience fatigue throughout the day. Depression sets in, and you get easily mad or irritated by things.
If you notice just one of these things, it’s easy to ignore it and not worry about it. But you must contact our office as soon as you notice symptoms. This is especially true if you have multiple of these symptoms. Bring concerns to a professional as soon as possible to avoid the harsher consequences of untreated sleep apnea.
At your consultation, we will perform a physical exam and discuss your medical history and current conditions. We will also ask questions about any symptoms you may be having and your sleep habits.
Typically, we need a sleep study to properly diagnose sleep apnea. We do some versions in the office, or there are ones that you can take and do at home. We’ll help you determine which option is best for you.
CPAP machines are usually the most common treatment option for sleep apnea. However, they’re uncomfortable and can be hard for people to sleep with.
We focus on oral appliance therapy. It positions your jaw while you sleep so that your airway remains open throughout the night. In severe cases, we can perform surgery.
What issues can sleep apnea cause?
Sleep apnea causes extra stress on the body, particularly the heart. The side effects of untreated sleep apnea are diverse. Sleep apnea can trigger serious health problems like the following:
- Chronic sleepiness or fatigue
- Heart attack
- Recurrent heart attack
- Heartburn (GERD)
- Depression
- High blood pressure / Hypertension
- Stroke
- Frequent morning headaches
- Obesity
- Abnormal heartbeats / atrial fibrillation
Sleep Apnea FAQs
Understanding sleep apnea and how it affects your mind and body is essential to know how important treatment is. Read the answers to these commonly asked questions to learn more.
What should I avoid if I have sleep apnea?
Avoid sleeping on your back as much as possible. This position makes it more likely for soft tissue in the back of your throat to collapse and block your airway. Alcohol, sleeping pills, and certain anti-anxiety medications can also increase the risks of sleep apnea. They make you more relaxed and sleepy, increasing the likelihood of that muscle and tissue collapsing.
What’s the life expectancy for people with sleep apnea?
With mild sleep apnea, it doesn’t often lead to severe complications. If you have severe sleep apnea and it remains untreated, you’re three times as likely to die as those without it. If you’re under 50 and have severe sleep apnea, treatment can increase your life expectancy by multiple years. It all depends on your case and how well you respond to treatment.
Is it safe for people with sleep apnea to be put to sleep?
Anesthesia can actually be extremely dangerous for people with sleep apnea. Anesthesia slows your breathing down, and you’re more susceptible to the effects of it when you have sleep apnea. When you’re coming out of anesthesia after your procedure, it can be harder to breathe properly or regain consciousness if you have sleep apnea. You’re more likely to have serious complications.
How many apneas per hour is considered severe?
Sleep apnea is measured on a scale called the apnea-hypopnea index (AHI). It measures the number of apneas per hour while sleeping. For normal people, an AHI of five or under is common. Mild sleep apnea is 5-15, moderate is 15-30, and anything under 30 is considered severe. We’ll likely perform a sleep study to determine your AHI number.
What’s the most serious side effect of sleep apnea?
Sleep apnea isn’t something you should brush off. Death is the most serious side effect. Most commonly, sleep apnea deaths are caused by abnormal heart rhythms. They’re often a result of low oxygen levels that come with sleep apnea. They’re one of the main reasons why sleep apnea sufferers have sudden deaths.
Can sleep apnea impact your memory?
Yes. Your brain isn’t getting enough oxygen when you have sleep apnea, and that causes complications. Some people may experience memory loss. It also causes a decline in your cognitive ability. Patients with sleep breathing disorders can experience mild cognitive impairment ten years earlier than those without a sleep breathing disorder.
Schedule A Consultation Today
Do you have concerns about sleep issues, or has your physician diagnosed you with sleep issues? Schedule a consultation with Dr. Harper to learn more about the benefits of oral appliance therapy. Dr. Harper accepts patients from Newport News, Chesapeake, and Norfolk, Virginia.