Sleep Apnea is a medical term describing the condition related to airway collapsibility, which is expressed as sleep-disordered breathing.
There is a range of breathing cessation (i.e., “apnea”) that medical experts will assign to patients with Apnea. The ranges are commonly interpreted as mild, moderate or severe apnea. Although “mild” apnea may not sound so ominous, in our professional opinion, there is NO amount of breathing loss that is acceptable.
Some of the most serious diseases associated with snoring and sleep apnea include: stroke, hypertension (high blood pressure), heart attacks and heart disease, diabetes, gastro-esophageal reflux disorder (GERD), and many others. If you’ve ever gone without enough sleep, you’ll be familiar with symptoms that include memory loss, fatigue, and headaches. Ultimately, sleep apnea disrupts normal brain activity, precluding restorative sleep that is required for critical bio-chemical processes.
Aside from the above, daytime fatigue contributes to lost productivity at work, and safety concerns due to decreased attention span, judgment and reflex. Not surprisingly, the risks of auto accidents increases 8 fold in the untreated sleep apnea patient, as compared to a normal sleeper!
- Do you snore or have you been told that you snore?
- Do you wake up during the night?
- Do you have excessive daytime sleepiness?
- Have you ever had a sleep study?
- Do you have high blood pressure?
If you suffer from any of the above, we encourage you to contact our South San Francisco Sleep Doctors. Treatment can be virtually painless and, while results will vary, relief can be quickly achieved.
