Snoring and Sleep Apnea
Sleep apnea is the fastest growing medical issue in the USA. The negative effects on our overall health are being discovered rapidly with recent and ongoing research.
Snoring occurs when the airway becomes partially blocked. As the size of the airway shrinks, the result is a muffled sound secondary to vibrations in the throat, or snoring. This is a red flag as it could also be an early sign of sleep apnea. Most all sleep apnea sufferers snore in between bouts of apnea (oxygen interruption).
In a night, these apneic events (when a person stops breathing) can occur anywhere from 30 to 50 times, and in some as many as 60-100 times per hour. Sleep should be a replenishing event, not one where we are fighting for oxygen all night.
Common signs and symptoms of sleep apnea sufferers are as follows:
heart attack or irregular heart beats
impotence
high blood pressure
weight gain
stroke
heartburn
morning headaches
dry mouth
GERD
depression
decreased libido
For more information regarding sleep apnea and the possilbity of being screened for sleep apnea with our home test unit, contact DesertSmiles and Dr. Donald Wilcox.
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