Symptoms of sleep Apnea

  • Excessively loud snoring with interruptions in breathing
  • Choking or gasping during sleep
  • Frequent waking during the night
  • Excessive fatigue during the day
    Prone to falling asleep frequently during the day
  • Falling asleep while driving
  • Headaches upon waking up
  • Tissue barriers to the airway such as: Oversize tonsils or adenoids
  • Obesity
  • Trouble concentrating
  • Irritability
  • Memory loss
  • High blood pressure
  • Depression
  • Have trouble falling or staying asleep
  • Have trouble staying awake or suffer from excessive sleepiness that interferes with their daily activities
  • Have unusual sleep-related behaviors and movements
  • Have trouble with snoring or irregular breathing during sleep
  • Have a problem with leg kicking or jerking during the night

 

Importance of Sleep Apnea Syndrome
Undisturbed sleep promotes health, lowers stress, increases productivity and contributes significantly to quality of life. Unfortunately, not everyone experiences all the benefits of a good night's sleep.

Obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS) affects an estimated 20 million Americans and is associated with chronic diseases such as obesity, hypertension, heart failure, stroke, sexual dysfunction, and depression. Sleep fragmentation, which results from OSAS can lead to excessive daytime sleepiness, headaches, memory loss, difficulty concentrating, loss of productivity and accidents.

 

 It has been estimated that OSAS remains undiagnosed in 82% of men and 93% of women with the condition (1). The costs to the healthcare system of undiagnosed and untreated OSAS are profound. Effectively diagnosing and treating OSAS, rather than dealing with the consequences of this chronic disease reduces overall healthcare costs (2,3).

The diagnosis and treatment of OSAS is a growing and vitally important field. Until medical providers learn to recognize and respond to the seriousness of sleep disorders, the consequences of undiagnosed and untreated sleep apnea will continue to be devastating.