Obstructive Sleep Apnea
Sleep apnea is a sleep disorder that causes a person's breathing to stop during sleep. Patients with sleep apnea can stop breathing up to hundreds of times a night, depriving the brain and body of oxygen. Obstructive sleep apnea occurs when the throat muscles relax and block your airway, often causing snoring.
Causes & Symptoms of Sleep Apnea
Central sleep apnea is a condition that is a lot less common than obstructive sleep apnea. It occurs because your brain doesn't send the proper signals to the muscles that control breathing. The most common cause of both types of sleep apnea is being overweight or obese. Other causes of obstructive sleep apnea include hypothyroidism, excessive production of growth hormone, a deviated septum and allergies.
Sleep apnea symptoms include:
• Loud snoring every night or almost every night
• Fatigue during the day
• Snorting or choking while sleeping
• Shortness of breath
Sleep apnea predisposes people to a variety of medical conditions. If you have sleep apnea, you're much more likely to experience high blood pressure, diabetes, heart attack, stroke and an irregular heart beat. It can also increase your risk of being involved in a car accident.
Sleep Apnea Treatments
Sleep apnea treatment options include:
• Weight loss. Studies show that losing weight is an effective long-term treatment for patients with sleep apnea who are overweight or obese.
• A CPAP machine, which blows pressure into your throat to prevent it from collapsing.
• A dental device (also known as a mouthguard), which pulls the jaw forward and stops snoring.
• Surgery to treat people who snore or have a blocked nose or nasal passage issues. If you undergo sleep apnea treatment, you may work with your physician, a sleep specialist, an otolaryngologist (ear, nose and throat doctor) and/or a CPAP specialist.
Surgeons can do a procedure called a uvuloplasty, where they can cut out the top of your mouth and prevent some of the tissue from blocking the airway off. Sometimes in the pediatric populations, where kids have a more crowded throat, big tonsils, and more of a confined airway, sleep apnea surgery can be an option.
Talk to your endocrinologist if you'd like more information on obstructive sleep apnea.
Visit HealthChoicesFirst.com for more videos and resources on diabetes.
Print this Action Plan and check off items that you want to discuss with your healthcare provider
-
Obstructive sleep apnea occurs when the throat muscles relax and block your airway, often causing snoring.
-
The most common cause of obstructive sleep apnea is being overweight or obese. Other causes of obstructive sleep apnea include hypothyroidism, excessive production of growth hormone, a deviated septum and allergies.
-
Sleep apnea symptoms include loud snoring every night or almost every night, fatigue during the day, snorting or choking while sleeping and shortness of breath.
-
Sleep apnea predisposes people to a variety of medical conditions. If you have sleep apnea, you're much more likely to experience high blood pressure, diabetes, heart attack, stroke and an irregular heart beat.
-
Sleep apnea treatment options include weight loss, a CPAP machine, a dental device (also known as a mouthguard) and surgery.
Obstructive Sleep Apnea
Knowledge is Power.
True/False - Quiz: Do You Understand Obstructive Sleep Apnea?
Information - Obstructive Sleep Apnea
Sleep apnea is a sleep disorder that causes a person's breathing to stop during sleep. Patients with sleep apnea can stop breathing up to hundreds of times a night, depriving the brain and body of oxygen. Obstructive sleep apnea occurs when the throat muscles relax and block your airway, often causing snoring.
Causes & Symptoms of Sleep Apnea
Central sleep apnea is a condition that is a lot less common than obstructive sleep apnea. It occurs because your brain doesn't send the proper signals to the muscles that control breathing. The most common cause of both types of sleep apnea is being overweight or obese. Other causes of obstructive sleep apnea include hypothyroidism, excessive production of growth hormone, a deviated septum and allergies.
Sleep apnea symptoms include:
• Loud snoring every night or almost every night
• Fatigue during the day
• Snorting or choking while sleeping
• Shortness of breath
Sleep apnea predisposes people to a variety of medical conditions. If you have sleep apnea, you're much more likely to experience high blood pressure, diabetes, heart attack, stroke and an irregular heart beat. It can also increase your risk of being involved in a car accident.
Sleep Apnea Treatments
Sleep apnea treatment options include:
• Weight loss. Studies show that losing weight is an effective long-term treatment for patients with sleep apnea who are overweight or obese.
• A CPAP machine, which blows pressure into your throat to prevent it from collapsing.
• A dental device (also known as a mouthguard), which pulls the jaw forward and stops snoring.
• Surgery to treat people who snore or have a blocked nose or nasal passage issues. If you undergo sleep apnea treatment, you may work with your physician, a sleep specialist, an otolaryngologist (ear, nose and throat doctor) and/or a CPAP specialist.
Surgeons can do a procedure called a uvuloplasty, where they can cut out the top of your mouth and prevent some of the tissue from blocking the airway off. Sometimes in the pediatric populations, where kids have a more crowded throat, big tonsils, and more of a confined airway, sleep apnea surgery can be an option.
Talk to your endocrinologist if you'd like more information on obstructive sleep apnea.
Visit HealthChoicesFirst.com for more videos and resources on diabetes.
Print this Action Plan and check off items that you want to discuss with your healthcare provider
-
Obstructive sleep apnea occurs when the throat muscles relax and block your airway, often causing snoring.
-
The most common cause of obstructive sleep apnea is being overweight or obese. Other causes of obstructive sleep apnea include hypothyroidism, excessive production of growth hormone, a deviated septum and allergies.
-
Sleep apnea symptoms include loud snoring every night or almost every night, fatigue during the day, snorting or choking while sleeping and shortness of breath.
-
Sleep apnea predisposes people to a variety of medical conditions. If you have sleep apnea, you're much more likely to experience high blood pressure, diabetes, heart attack, stroke and an irregular heart beat.
-
Sleep apnea treatment options include weight loss, a CPAP machine, a dental device (also known as a mouthguard) and surgery.
