Sleep apnea is a common disorder that affects thousands of people as they sleep. It cause interruptions during breathing that leads to noises being emitted, similar to those of snoring but it is not the same condition as snoring.
The interruptions in breathing can last for a few seconds or even minutes, which puts a lot of stress on the patients heart. Although, breathing will start again after a matter of time. Because the condition affects sleep, many sufferers are unaware that they have the disease. Sleep apnea is a chronic condition that disrupts three nights sleep a week on average. This often means the patient is tired for large parts of the week due to poor sleep, and they are often unaware of the causes.
The condition is very hard to test for which makes it so difficult to diagnose. This means that many people live with sleep apnea for many years having a huge impact on their lives. It occurs when the soft palate at the back of the throat collapses during sleep, temporarily blocking the airwaves and preventing breathing. This is called obstructive sleep apnea but there is another variety called central sleep apnea when the brain forgets to send a message to the lungs to breath. Both conditions can be very bad for your health and have links to stress and underperformance, especially in children. More worryingly however, is the links to heart disease and heart failure. There have been many cases of sudden death due to sleep apnea as the interruption to breathing outs tremendous strain on the heart.
If you think you may be suffering from sleep apnea, make an appointment to see a City of Leeds dentist who may be able to assist you with treatment, often involving a fitted appliance to be worn when sleeping.
Tags: heart disease, sleep apnea, snoring
