Sleep apnea is often diagnosed when your doctor investigates your family history, evaluates your medical history, does a physical exam, and then conducts a sleep study. During your initial appointment, Haleh Fazeli DDS will most likely ask you questions about your present symptoms to determine if you have sleep apnea. Furthermore, therapy for the ailment is determined by its severity and etiology, and numerous therapeutic options are accessible.
Understanding sleep apnea
Sleep apnea is a chronic sleep condition in which a person’s breathing is interrupted while sleeping. Untreated sleep apnea causes individuals to stop breathing periodically at night, often hundreds of times. Also, unmanaged sleep apnea can cause occupational impairment, work-related accidents, car accidents, and academic underachievement in children and teenagers.
Who can be affected by sleep apnea?
Sleep apnea affects around 25% of males and roughly 10% of women. However, sleep apnea may affect persons of all ages, including newborns and children, although it is more prevalent in adults over 50 and those who are overweight. Patients with obstructive sleep apnea have distinct physical and clinical features. Examples include excessive weight, a big neck, and structural flaws that constrict the upper airway, such as nasal blockage, a low-hanging soft palate, swollen tonsils, or a tiny jaw with an overbite.
Surgery therapy for sleep apnea
Individuals with obstructive sleep apnea and others who snore but do not have sleep apnea may benefit from surgical treatments. Outpatient treatments are one of the various types of operations performed. People with excess or deformed tissue impeding airflow through the nose or throat, like a deviated nasal septum, significantly enlarged tonsils, or a tiny lower jaw with an overbite that makes the throat to be abnormally narrow, may benefit from surgery therapy. These operations are often performed after conservative therapies and a CPAP trial have failed to improve sleep apnea.
Impacts of sleep apnea
Sleep apnea, if left undiagnosed, can lead to hypertension, stroke, arrhythmias, cardiomyopathy (enlargement of the heart muscle tissue), heart failure, diabetes, obesity, and heart attacks. Since sleep apnea is associated with greater blood pressure, it might induce arrhythmias and heart failure. Sleep apnea affects over half of all persons with heart failure or atrial fibrillation. This is because sleep apnea can result in:
- Carbon dioxide levels fluctuate.
- Repeated instances of oxygen deficiency (often known as hypoxia).
- Elevated levels of inflammatory markers.
- Direct impacts on the heart as a result of variations in chest pressure.
Additionally, given the high prevalence of sleep apnea in cardiac arrhythmias and heart failure (it’s virtually a coin flip as to whether the person has it), specialists advise you to seek medical attention as soon as possible.
If you are enduring sleep apnea, you have numerous treatment choices based on your signs, how long the symptoms have been present, and any other health issues you may be facing. A sleep specialist can evaluate the best therapy after running a few tests. Additionally, more than one therapy choice may be appropriate at times.
Sleep issues that go untreated can have a detrimental impact on your physical and emotional health. Sleep testing can assist you in obtaining the information you require to receive the therapy you deserve. Call Laguna Beach Dental Excellence or book your consultation online to know which sleep apnea therapy is ideal for you.
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