Can Snoring and/or Sleep Apnea be fatal for life?
Can Snoring and/or Sleep Apnea be fatal for life?
Yes it can
be. A healthy sleep is very important for a person’s health but when sleep is
disturbed it can lead to various disorders and even can be fatal for life.
Snoring?
Snoring a very common problem,
and most common sleep disorder, each and every one is acquaint to these days, either a person himself
is suffering from snoring or has someone
related to him/her having habit of snoring. However it is just not a
habit; it is much more than that. Almost 40% of population is suffering from
snoring. Snoring is a loud sound produced during sleep by the vibration of
respiratory structures when the airways get obstructed with irregular flow of air which
results in OBSTRUCTIVE SLEEP
APNEA which can be fatal
for life.
Sleep Apnea
Sleep Apnea is a most common and serious sleep disorder in which
breathing stops and starts repeatedly. Sleep apnea is suspected if a patient is
snoring, having daytime sleepiness and/or feeling tired after 6-8 hours of sleep. It has been observed that lack of sleep or obstruction of upper
airway can cause damage to arteries and lead to heart and brain problems.
People who are not getting enough sleep are at risk as they are sleeping less, snoring more, tossing and turning eyeing the clock are literally ageing
before time. Amongst all sleep disorders Obstructive Sleep Apnea is the commonest one comprising to about 80 – 85%.
What is Obstructive Sleep Apnea?
The muscles of upper airway are
responsible for opening and closing of the airway during sleep. When these muscles relax
too much during
sleep causing unusual
sounds and snoring.
Many times
these muscles relax too much causing collapse
of the upper airway resulting in obstruction of upper
airway and subsequently there is stoppage of breathing, which is experienced as
‘Obstructive Apnea’. It may happen frequently even several hundred
times at night.
If you have this condition, every time an apnea occurs, you struggle to
breathe, placing stress on your brain and heart. Night
after night, your
sleep is disrupted. You experience the
kind of tiredness that affects the quality
of your work, life, and relationships. Also, this can lead to severe risk factors
like Heart attack, Depression, High
Blood Pressure, Diabetes, Memory problems, Stroke,
Hormones disruption, increased day time sleepiness causing accidents. If proper measures
are not taken for
diagnosis and treatment the consequences can be life
threatening. Other associated features of OSA are Snoring, Nightmares, Sleep
walking, Bedwetting, Insomnia, Depression, Dementia, Epilepsy, Asthma.
One should observe
the person who is snoring
and should note the symptoms
closely for example sudden waking up during
sleep, gasping, choking,
excessive daytime sleepiness, morning headache,
dryness of throat, these are some of the alarming
signs associated with OSA. So when these signs
are observed one must consult
a specialist.
The diagnosis can be made by determining the cause of OSA which is done
by performing Sleep evaluation, Sleep study and Sleep endoscopy.
·
Sleep study
is a test that records
a variety of body functions
during sleep such as apnea and hypnoapnea events, blood
oxygen levels, heart rate, brain activity, air flow, thoracic movement, body position and snoring. These tests are used both to diagnose
sleep and to determine the
severity of obstruction.
·
Sleep endoscopy - is a special investigation in which endoscopy of upper airway
is done in sedation to find out the exact site/ sites
of upper airway
obstruction in a patient suspected to have Obstructive Sleep
Apnea. Areas that will specifically be examined are nose, soft palate, uvula,
back of the tongue, throat,
epiglottis, voice box.
Treatment will depend on
investigations and need of patient
1. Life style modification including weight reduction
2.
Surgical management
3.
PAP therapy
In nutshell, Snoring and Obstructive Sleep Apnea can deteriorate ones
health and wellness.
Early intervention will lead to good quality
of life.
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