Sleep Apnoea and Heart Health Are Bedfellows: Treat One, and You Treat Both

  • Posted in Sleep Apnoea
  •  By Loran Simon

health checkObstructive sleep apnoea is a breathing disorder caused by obstruction of the upper airway or throat. Collapse of the upper airway, despite ongoing efforts to breathe, prevents air from getting into the lungs. This results in lowering of blood oxygen levels during sleep, an increase in adrenaline levels, and an increase in overall stress on the cardiovascular system. An article from http://www.everydayhealth.com has stressed that having sleep apnoea may have bad effects on your heart health.

  • Collapse of the upper airway, despite ongoing efforts to breathe, prevents air from getting into the lungs. This results in lowering of blood oxygen levels during sleep, an increase in adrenaline levels, and an increase in overall stress on the cardiovascular system. Sleep quality is poor, so fatigue, tiredness, and daytime sleepiness are common symptoms of OSA.

  • Other consequences of OSA include impaired mental function, poor quality of life, increased risk of automobile accidents, worsening of diabetes, erectile dysfunction, high blood pressure, increased risk for cardiovascular disease (including heart attack, heart failure, and stroke), increased risk for irregular heartbeats (such as atrial fibrillation) and increased risk of death.

  • The standard treatment for OSA is called CPAP, for continuous positive airway pressure breathing. CPAP consists of a mask and an automatic air pump that blows pressurized air into the mouth and nose, acting as a “splint” to hold the upper airway open at night.

  • The just-published study from Dr Patrick Strollo and colleagues tested an alternative to CPAP, a pacemaker-like device that stimulates nerves to the upper airway to keep the airway open. The study included 126 OSA patients. All of the patients received the investigational device. Before treatment, the patients stopped breathing on average 30 times per hour during sleep. On treatment, this was reduced to just fewer than 10 episodes per hour for a 68 percent reduction in OSA events. There was also a major improvement in blood oxygen levels at night, and patients reported less sleepiness during the day. While this device remains under investigation, it appears to be a promising alternative for those OSA patients who do not tolerate CPAP.

Read more here:

http://www.everydayhealth.com/columns/bill-abraham-heart-disease-prevention/sleep-apnoea-and-heart-health-are-bedfellows-treat-one-and-you-treat-both/

Image  Courtesy of KROMKRATHOG / freedigitalphotos.net

Somnowell Inventor - Visiting Professor Simon Ash FDS MSc MOrth BDS

Prof. Ash is the inventor of the highly successful SOMNOWELL Chrome device for snoring and sleep apnoea.

The Somnowell Chrome is made to exacting standards in the Somnowell laboratory under the supervision of Visiting Professor Simon Ash. Prof. Ash and his master technicians create each Somnowell Chrome device using their wealth of experience and expertise.

Prof. Ash works at the forefront of his profession. He is a Consultant and Specialist Orthodontist with over 30 years clinical experience, with a special interest in sleep related breathing disorders, TMJD, and bruxism. He currently works in Harley Street London and two private hospitals in London as part of a multi-disciplinary team managing snoring and sleep apnoea, and is Visiting Professor of Orthodontics at the BPP University.

The Somnowell mandibular advancement appliance is also recommended by:

  • Sleep Centres
  • ENT Surgeons, Sleep Physicians, Respiratory, Physicians
  • Orthodontists, Dentists
  • General Medical Practitioners
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