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FactsYou Want Learn About Sleep Apnea
By administrator | July 13, 2009
When breathing of a person during sleep is reduced or stops, this condition could be diagnosed as sleep apnea.Ordinary examination by the doctor, however, is usually insufficient to detect this disorder and sleep apnea often goes undetected. Most patients would not know if they have sleep apnea because it only happens to them while sleeping. This condition could only be noticed if a patient’s family member or bed partner calls attention to the problem.
A diagnosis of this condition would reveal either of three types of apnea. These apnea types include central apnea, obstructive apnea, and a combination of the two.
Central apnea occurs when the brain of a person asleep fails to activate the muscles for breathing. Obstructive apnea, on the other hand, happens when the person’s airway collapses during sleep. This is the most common type of sleep apnea and occurs mostly in overweight patients. There are several complications of obstructive apnea. Such possibilities that could occur are high blood pressure, heart disease, stroke, sleepiness during the day resulting in concentration and thinking difficulties that may lead to accidents while driving. Diagnosis and evaluation of obstructive sleep apnea is done through physical examination, medical history and polysomnography on the patient. If you think you might be suffering from sleep apnea you should see a doctor for sleep apnea.
Seeking treatment is very crucial for a patient diagnosed with obstructive sleep apnea. The temptation is great for a person with this problem to just ignore the disorder. Treatment could be inconvenient as it may entail wearing masks and dental appliances every night. Using a dental appliance for sleep apnea is uncomfortable at first but you can get used to it. A chin strap for sleep apnea is slightly less uncomfortable, but is very unattractive. Surgical treatment is painful and is not guaranteed to be successful.Due to these inconveniences, painful treatment and uncertain results, only an estimated 10% of obstructive sleep apnea patients undergo treatment.
Hence, it is important to educate the remaining 90% of those patients of the consequences of doing away with treatment of their problem. In addition to putting themselves at risk, they likewise pose risk to others particularly when driving. Serious risks face the patient for non-treatment of the problem, including higher possibility of stroke, hypertension, heart attack, work productivity reduction, lowered attentiveness and at its extreme death.
Persons with obstructive sleep apnea should discuss treatment with their doctor right away. Other than surgery, wearing mask and dental appliances, there are more palatable treatments of patients. These include behavioral therapy, continuous positive airway pressure, auto-titrating continuous positive airway pressure, and bi-level positive airway pressure.
Some lifestyle changes of patients could also help in apnea treatment. Avoiding alcoholic drinks, reducing weight and quitting smoking are some lifestyle change options. Having the body at a 30-degree elevation while sleeping to prevent airway collapse due to gravity could also help in apnea treatment. Sleeping on a sideways position may also beneficial in reducing the gravitational cause of sleep apnea.
There are several surgical procedures for those patients who elect surgery. Procedures that may be suggested include, nasal surgery, tongue reduction surgery, palate implants, bariatric surgery, maxi-mandibular advancement and uvulopapatopahryngoplasty.
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