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What is Sleep Apnea and Why Should You Care?

Most people are well aware of what snoring is - if you know someone who does it, you can't help but be affected.
But did you know snoring is a common sign of a much more serious problem known as obstructive sleep apnea (OSA)?
According to respiratory therapists from the American Association for
Respiratory Care (AARC), as many as 18 million Americans have sleep apnea, but about 10 million have yet to be diagnosed and are not receiving proper treatment.
OSA occurs when the throat muscles become too relaxed during sleep and block a person's airways, leading them to stop breathing for brief periods of time during the night. Each episode - known as an "apnea" - causes the person to wake up briefly so that normal breathing can resume.
In some cases, people with OSA have 30 or more of these episodes every
night, resulting in an interrupted night's sleep and excessive sleepiness during the day that can lead to everything from general crankiness to serious health problems.
"Sleep apnea has been linked to high blood pressure and to increased chances of heart disease, stroke, and irregular heart rhythms," says Tom Smalling, RRT, RPFT, RPSGT, who heads up the AARC's Round table on sleep medicine. He also says poor sleep can cause "depression, irritability, loss of memory, lack of energy, and a high risk of vehicular and workplace accidents."
While not everyone who snores has sleep apnea, people who snore are at
increased risk for the condition. So are folks who are overweight and have
enlarged tonsils or adenoids, or an especially narrow throat. Men tend to
have sleep apnea more often than women, and most people with the conditionare over age 40 - although even children have been diagnosed with the
problem.
The AARC recommends anyone who snores excessively or is having trouble staying awake during the day contact a doctor or respiratory therapist to inquire about sleep testing. A sleep test - which can be performed either in a sleep laboratory or, in some cases, in a patient's own home - is the only way to find out if you have OSA. What if you do have the condition? In some cases, all it takes to resolve sleep apnea is to lose some weight - even ten pounds can help.
When the problem is more extensive, OSA can be treated with continuous positive airway pressure, or CPAP, a device that helps keep your airways open while you sleep.
"CPAP is a relatively simple, inexpensive, non-surgical and noninvasive therapy that can be easily be used at home," says AARC Home Care Section Chair Joseph Lewarski, BS, RRT. "It's one of the fastest growing homerespiratory therapies." Smalling explains that the device involves a small air blower connected via a hose to a nasal mask the patient wears during sleep.
"The CPAP device blows air into your nose to keep your airway from collapsing and creating an obstruction by increasing the air pressure in your airways." The mask has
straps to hold it in place, and most people find it comfortable enough to
wear all night.

So if you know someone who is having trouble getting a good night's rest or staying awake and alert during the day, tell them about obstructive sleep apnea and what can be done to alleviate the problem. Or, better yet, refer them to the AARC's consumer web site, YourLungHealth.org. You'll find everything you ever wanted to know about OSA and how it's treated - along with a wealth of information about other respiratory conditions.
Respiratory therapists are specially trained health care professionals who assist physicians in treating and managing respiratory patients in hospitals, outpatient centers, physicians' offices, skilled nursingfacilities, and patients' homes. Many respiratory therapists are also
employed as sleep laboratory managers and staff sleep technologists and are qualified to perform and evaluate sleep studies. The American Association for Respiratory Care is a professional membership organization of respiratory therapists dedicated to respiratory therapy education and research. Among its goals are to advocate on behalf of pulmonary patients for appropriate access to respiratory services provided by qualified professionals and to benefit respiratory health care providers.