Sleep apnea

kacarter1017

Just came from a lunch seminar on obstructive sleep apnea. I've known for a long time that sleep apnea causes hypertension(high blood pressure) and had a causal link to atrial fibrillation (strong suspicion but no formal study results to prove it). Well, the study results are coming very close to publication that indeed there is a direct cause and effect. Also, there is a causal link between sleep apnea and sudden death. It's very possible that football great Reggie White died because he stopped wearing his CPAP mask (treatment for sleep apnea) the week before he died a sudden death.

The other health problems linked to sleep apnea are many. I'm not going to go into all of them here. The reason I'm posting anything about this is because obesity is a cause of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) and also an effect of sleep apnea. People who are very heavy end up obstructing their airways when they sleep, especially on their backs. Losing weight can improve and even stop obstructive sleep apnea in these people. Researchers have also found that people with sleep apnea tend to gain weight because their food intake increases. How many of you eat more (especially starchy carbs) when you're tired? And how much exercise do you get when you're always fatigued? As you can imagine, sleeping with someone with sleep apnea isn't easy. They're snoring, snuffing, gasping, moving all over the place; doesn't make for a restful night for the partner. This can lead to discord in the relationship- now they're both tired and crabby. How many of you are emotional eaters? I sure am. Make me tired and crabby and I want to eat!

As you can see, it can get to be a cycle. If you're tired all the time and really can't figure out why, have a higher blood pressure, your partner complains about your sleep patterns, you've plateaued for a long time and can't figure it out, it might be worthwhile to have it checked out. If it's suspected, an easy overnight oximetry is the initial step. It that's abnormal, then a formal sleep study is usually done.

Most physicians are pretty up on this these days, but I'm surprised how many patients I send for oximetry that are screaming OSA from across the room and their primary physician didn't catch it. If I have even a sense of some sleep disordered breathing in a hypertensive patient, I get an overnight oximetry to check it out. I haven't formally tracked it, but I'm guessing over 30% have OSA.

Just something I thought might help a few people...