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Click here for this book 'Kakka
Kakka Idhayam Kakka'
In India, we think of snoring as just an annoyance to be tolerated. Men and women who snore are just objects of fascination to most of us, until someone reminds us that we ourselves snore while asleep. Then comes the classic denial ‘Me!!! Snore!!! NEVER’. This scenario is something that most of us can easily relate to. Many of us may remember watching with a sense of amusement the snoring episodes of our friends and relatives, while growing up. But, snoring, it turns out, is not really a funny event.
Snoring is the result of somebody partially choking themselves. During sleep, the tongue and tissues of the throat fall back and block the path for air that goes from the nose to the lungs. The continued working of the lung trying to suck more air creates a negative pressure in the throat area. This negative pressure sucks in the soft palate causing it to vibrate and produce the snoring sound. People who breathe through open mouths during sleep may also snore. The mechanism described above has been identified by researching snoring people using CAT scan imaging.
Obstructive Sleep Apnea:
Since snoring basically cuts off oxygen supply to the body, a severe degree of obstruction can cause the body to counteract by producing more adrenaline. This, in turn, increases the heart rate and blood pressure very quickly. The heart thus works harder during the sleeping hours in snorers when it is actually supposed to slow down and conserve itself. This could lead to the development of a condition called ‘Obstructive Sleep Apnea’ or OSA. Apnea is a Greek word meaning ‘without breath’. This is literally what happens in people who suffer from OSA. They can stop breathing for as long as 10 seconds. These kinds of gaps in breathing may happen many, many times during a single night of sleep.
A growing body of evidence suggests that people with obstructive sleep apnea have a 25 – 30 per cent increased risk for a heart attack and a significantly elevated risk for developing heart failure. Obstructive sleep apnea also elevates the risk for suffering a stroke.
Symptoms:
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People with OSA may have severe disturbance in sleep which may lead to tiredness after waking up in the morning.
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Such people don’t feel rested and fresh in the morning. They may, in fact, feel very sleepy during the daytime and find it difficult to focus.
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Driving accidents tend to happen as such people are found dozing off at the steering wheel.
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Patients with OSA may not be aware of their problems during sleep and usually they are told about their bad snoring by their spouse, friends or relatives.
Diagnosis:
People with the above symptoms and or significant history of snoring should discuss this issue with your doctor, to determine if further testing is warranted. Your doctor may advise you to undergo a test called ‘Polysomnography’ (not to be confused with polygraph or lie detector test). This test is conducted in a sleep lab which is usually located in a hospital although there may be some stand-alone labs. Patients sleep in the sleep lab while being hooked up to devices that track the number of episodes of breath holding, the patient’s oxygen levels, blood pressure, heart rate, etc.
Treatment:
People with OSA have some treatment options depending on the severity of the condition. There are some simple breathing aids that can provide limited relief in mild snoring disorders. People with more severe obstruction may benefit from the use of breathing devices called CPAP or BIPAP (Continuous Positive Airway Pressure) devices.
Some may benefit from surgery to modify the throat and tongue base which can relieve the obstruction.
It is important for people to be aware of this relatively common condition. When serious symptoms are evident, check with your doctor to ascertain if OSA is to blame. Your doctor will advise you regarding further treatment measures.
Click here for this book 'Kakka
Kakka Idhayam Kakka'
Dr G Balachander
Cardiologist
Illinois, USA
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