Sleep Apnea Is A Sleep Disorder That Can Be Fatal

Sleep apnea is a sleep disorder that can be fatal. People with sleep apnea will have no problem falling asleep, but once asleep their throat muscles over- relax and they collapse on the airway. This sends a signal to the brain telling it that breathing has temporarily been cut off. Once they have stopped breathing the person wakes up and begins breathing normal again.
How can snoring be so bad for you?
This non breathing cycle can happen many times a night. An episode can occur up to 50 times a night and last from ten seconds or longer. People are usually unaware that anything is happening to them and they do not understand why they are so tired during the day.

Obstructive sleep apnea, known as OSA, is the most common from of this sleep disorder. Some people that suffer from obstructive sleep apnea may often suffer from cental sleep apnea. If they develop cental sleep apnea they have a sleep disorder known as mixed sleep apnea. Most believe that obstructive sleep apnea affects 18 – 20% of adults in the United States. This disorder only becomes life threatening and very rarely fatal if left untreated. Obstructive sleep apnea may lead to heart disease, stroke, pulmonary hypertension and systemic hypertension.

Are there any treatments?

There are many cures for sleep apnea, surgical and noninvasive. One of the treatments is positive airway pressure. Positive airway pressure also known as PAP, is a noninvasive form of treatment for people suffering from moderate to severe sleep apnea. During this treatment a machine sends a constant flow of air through a mask that is worn while sleeping. A sleep study must be held to determine the force of the air flow. The three types of positive airway pressure therapy are, CPAP, BiPAP, and Auto PAP.

You may also go to a dentist to seek help with this sleep disorder. The two general categories that help with this sleep disorder are mandibular or lower jaw, advancing devices or tongue retaining devices. The most popular device to help with this disorder is the mandibular device. They attach this device to the upper jaw and pull the lower jaw and base of the tongue forward. This shift of your mouth keeps the airway open during the night.

For most people medications do not help with their sleep apnea, although many of them take antidepressants and mondafinal. In conjunction with a PAP machine supplemental oxygen is often used. Just the use of oxygen does not prevent the collapse of the airway or sleep fragmentation. Oxygen can prevent the loss of blood oxygen that occurs when the airway collapses.

You should also know that there are some surgical treatments for obstructive sleep apnea, but you shouldn’t jump to this treatment if you can help it. While these surgical treatments may be the correct option for some people who severely suffer from obstructive sleep apnea, there are times when you might not need to opt for this treatment option.

With the correct forms of treatment for obstructive sleep apnea most people find that their life greatly improves along with their ability to get a good night of sleep after they under go treatment.