Obstructive Sleep Apnea
by Sleep apnea
Posted on 09-02-2021 03:39 AM
Symptoms of Sleep Apnea
Sleep apnea is present in about one of every five adults but in patients with diabetes over half suffer from sleep apnea unfortunately the vast majority of these patients are undiagnosed this is in part because people may not realize that their sleep is being disrupted or may not understand how important it is to discuss sleep with their doctor some people may think that their snoring is merely embarrassing rather than a possible sign of a serious medical condition patients who suffer from sleep apnea commonly complain of excessive sleepiness fatigue and lack of energy other common daytime symptoms include morning headaches depression and an inability to concentrate loud snoring pauses in breathing during sleep waking up choking or gasping for breath are all classic signs of sleep apnea in some cases the patient may not realize that they are experiencing these symptoms until their bed partner expresses concern it is important to note though that many patients with sleep apnea have no signs or symptoms of the condition sleep apnea is a condition that can affect anyone but is slightly more common in men other risk factors for sleep apnea include being overweight or having high blood pressure anyone who finds themselves constantly tired drifting off in meetings or while sitting at traffic lights may have sleep apnea if your bed partner complains about loud snoring or choking sounds you should talk to your doctor.
Obstructive sleep apnea
Obstructive sleep apnea is caused by collapse of the pharyngeal airway during sleep and it's characterized by apnea episodes during sleep where the person will stop breathing periodically for up to a few minutes and this is usually reported by the partner as the patient is unaware of these episodes there's a few risk factors for developing obstructive sleep apnea these are being middle-aged male obese drinking excessive alcohol and smoking so if you see a combination of these features in your exams think about obstructive sleep apnea how do patients present well .
Often the apnea episodes during sleep are reported by their partner they might come in complaining of snoring patients often have a morning headache and they wake up feeling unrefreshed from sleep then a key feature is daytime sleepiness and concentration problems and when we check the patient during their sleep they have reduced oxygen saturations throughout the night severe cases can cause hypertension heart failure and can increase the risk of having myocardial infarction or stroke .
Here's a quick tip for you if you're interviewing someone that you suspect has obstructive sleep apnea ask them about daytime sleepiness and their occupation daytime sleepiness is a key feature that should make you think about obstructive sleep apnea and patients that need to be fully alert for work for example if they're driving heavy goods vehicles they require urgent referrals and may need amended work duties while they're waiting for assessment and initiating treatment .
How do we manage patients with obstructive sleep apnea the first step is to do a referral to an ent specialist or a specialist sleep clinic where they can perform sleep studies this involves the patient sleeping in a laboratory while staff monitor their oxygen saturations their heart rate respiratory rate breathing and trying to establish any apnea episodes and the extent of their snoring .
The first step in management is to correct reversible risk factors so this is to advise them to stop drinking alcohol to stop smoking and losing weight the next step is to use a continuous positive airway pressure or a cpap machine that provides continuous pressure into the airway that helps to maintain the airway and keep the airway open so that they can breathe normally and it doesn't collapse and cause apnea .
The final option is surgery and this involves quite significant surgical restructuring of the soft palate and the jaw the most common procedure is called a uvulo palatopharyngioplasty or a upppp ..
The Effects of Untreated Sleep Apnea
sleep apnea is a serious condition where breathing pauses frequently during sleep if you've been diagnosed with sleep apnea you should know that there can be serious short and long-term effects on your overall health if you don't treat it over time ..
Untreated sleep apnea can put additional strain on your heart this puts you at increased risk for hypertension stroke heart attack and other cardiovascular problems in the short term the effects of untreated sleep apnea are far-reaching it is the most common reason for poor sleep quality which means that you're not getting the sleep you need at night to perform your best while awake this can affect you every single day including your mood focus and attention to tasks cognition and job performance .
In addition we know that untreated sleep apnea puts driver safety at risk and is a known cause of increased risk of motor vehicle accidents the important thing is that you treat your sleep apnea your UC health sleep specialist will develop an individualized therapy plan just for you you .