Risk Factors for Sleep Apnea

Sleep apnea is a serious sleep disorder where a person’s breathing is interrupted during sleep. People with untreated sleep apnea tend to stop breathing repeatedly during their sleep. This can result in a lack of oxygen to the body. Keep in mind that sleep apnea can affect anyone at any age; meaning children are also at risk.

In general, there are two types of sleep apnea: Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) and central sleep apnea. With obstructive sleep apnea, the more common form of apnea, there is a blockage of the airway when the soft tissue in the back of the throat collapse during sleep. With central sleep apnea, the airway is not blocked, but the brain fails to signal to your body to breathe. This causes instability in the respiratory control center. This can lead to many risk factors for sleep apnea.

Risk factors

Running family history and complications

A family history of sleep apnea puts you at an increased risk for developing sleep apnea. Excessive weight and fat deposits may obstruct breathing around the upper airway. People with asthma may also find themselves suffering from obstructive sleep apnea as there are constant nasal congestion and breathing complications. As a result, daytime fatigue and sleepiness are common complications for patients battling sleep apnea. Treatments for sleep apnea are available.

Substance abuse

The use of alcohol, sedatives or tranquilizers all relax the muscles in your throat. If you have obstructive sleep apnea, these substance increases your risk factor and potential problems down the line. Smokers are three times more likely to have obstructive sleep apnea as smoking can increase the amount of inflammation and fluid retention in the upper airway. This also leads to a more narrowed airway and does not help your cause in any way. Liver problems are another risk factor to sleep apnea. Patients who suffer from sleep apnea tend to show signs of scarring and abnormal results on liver function tests.

Sleep apnea can cause other complications

Heart complications

Sleep apnea can cause high blood pressure and heart problems if not fixed. Sudden drops in blood oxygen levels may occur due to obstruction and increased strain in the cardiovascular system. This increases your risk of recurrent heart attacks, strokes and abnormal heartbeats. In addition, if you have heart disease, multiple episodes of low blood oxygen from sleep apnea can lead to sudden and painful death due to heart attacks or fits of irregular heartbeats.

Heart disease and diabetes

Since sleep apnea affects the respiratory control center, your risk for developing type 2 diabetes increases. Your risk of insulin resistance also increases as well. Metabolic syndromes such as high cholesterol levels and high blood sugar are also linked to a higher risk of heart disease. People suffering from sleep apnea tend to have more complications after surgeries and procedures due to being prone to breathing problems.

Issues with surgery

Always make sure to warn and inform your doctor about your battle with sleep apnea before having surgery. Sedation and laying on your back during surgery could cause major complications if the proper steps are not taken to help the patient.

The bottom line

Consult with a trained professional for treatment as soon as possible if you suspect you are falling victim to sleepless nights caused by sleep apnea.

Request an appointment here: https://fortleefamilydental.com or call Fort Lee Family Dental at (201) 620-9772 for an appointment in our Fort Lee office.

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