Sleep apnea is a common disorder in which you have one or more pauses in breathing or shallow breaths while you sleep. Breathing pauses can occur 5 to 30 times an hour. Sleep apnea is an ongoing condition that disrupts your sleep and causes excessive daytime tiredness.
Untreated sleep apnea can increase the risk of high blood pressure, heart attack, stroke, obesity, and diabetes. It can also increase the risk of heart failure. Arrhythmias, or heartbeat irregularities, are more likely to occur among sufferers of sleep apnea. There can also be an increase of work-related accidents or driving accidents among people who have the symptom of daytime sleepiness because of apnea.
Sleep apnea is a chronic condition that requires long term management. Lifestyle changes, mouthpieces, surgery or breathing devices can successfully treat sleep apnea in many people. Please go to our website www.voorheesdentistry.com to learn more about this and other dental issues.