The Harvard Medical School Guide to a Good Night's Sleep by Lawrence Epstein & Steven Mardon

Author:Lawrence Epstein & Steven Mardon
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: McGraw-Hill Education
Published: 2007-04-03T04:00:00+00:00

• Snoring. The hallmark of OSA is extremely loud snoring. Bed partners often liken it to a chainsaw or a foghorn, and they notice a pattern of snoring interrupted by periods of silence that end with snorting or gasping sounds. In many cases, the snoring is so irksome that spouses choose to sleep in another room. Not surprisingly, it’s often the spouse who forces the person with sleep apnea to seek treatment.

• Thick neck. The risk of having OSA rises with increasing neck size, a measure of body weight. Men with a neck circumference of seventeen inches or more and women with a neck circumference of sixteen inches or more are at higher risk. As with snoring, obesity is a major risk factor here, since fatty deposits surrounding the throat expand as people gain weight, narrowing the airway.

• Hypertension and cardiovascular problems. The 2003 report from the U.S. National Committee on Prevention, Detection, Evaluation, and Treatment of High Blood Pressure lists sleep apnea as the first of ten identifiable causes of hypertension, and more than half of patients with OSA have it. Other cardiovascular problems are also common; sleep is normally a time of rest for the heart, but sleep apnea forces the heart to work harder every time blood oxygen levels dip and the person wakes up to breathe. OSA patients have a higher risk for stroke, heart attack, heart failure, and arrhythmias (irregular heartbeats), most likely due to the high blood pressure apnea causes.

• Daytime sleepiness. People with OSA are excessively sleepy during the day and may fall asleep at unexpected times. They often describe feeling like they’re in a fog all day long.

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