A new study published today provides strong evidence that severe obstructive sleep apnea increases your risk of death.
The study shows that the people with severe OSA were 46 percent more likely to die than those who did not have OSA. The risk of death in people with moderate OSA was increased by 17 percent.
The risk of death was even higher in men between the ages of 40 and 70; those with severe OSA were two times more likely to die than men their age who did not have OSA.
“Our study results really raise concern about the potentially harmful effects of sleep apnea,” principal investigator Dr. Naresh Punjabi said in a Johns Hopkins statement. “Such an increased risk of death warrants screening for sleep apnea as part of routine health care.”
Eight percent of men and three percent of women in the study had severe OSA. High blood pressure, diabetes and heart disease were more common in people with moderate to severe OSA.
Learn more about the study on SleepEducation.com.
Last year a study in the journal Sleep reported similar findings. People with severe sleep apnea were three times more likely to die during an 18-year follow-up period. The study also suggested that treating sleep apnea with regular CPAP use may prevent premature death.
On SleepEducation.com you can learn how CPAP therapy can be a life saver for people with OSA. You also can answer these questions to learn more about your risk for sleep apnea.
Contact an AASM-accredited sleep disorders center for help with sleep apnea.
Although not many people know, this disease can also be treated by sleep dentists.
ReplyDeleteThere really is a better way to deal with sleep apnea than CPAP or surgery. I spent 4 years studying sleep apnea and I believ that the root cause is due to the attenuation of the signal from the brain to the diaphragm muschles when the sleeper enters stage II sleep. This un-intended side-effect of the "reduction of muscle tonus" that occurs during this transition causes breathing to stop. then, when the CO2 level gets too high, the sleeper makes a rapid inhalation Dragging the soft tissue into the airway, obstructing it and waking them up. The reduction of the signal from the brain is causing the problem. So... I found this herbal combination product that INCREASES the signal and keeps the breathing going. This addresses the root cause so you don't make a rapid inhalation and drag the sagging tissues into the airway. The stuff is called Sleep Apnea Relief and I buy it from Nature's Rite. I've been using it for 4 years and it is really great. So you don't have to use CPAP. I just wanted to let you know.
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