Snoring or Sleep Apnea?
More than 100 million Americans fail to get a good nights sleep. While there are various reasons for this problem, studies have shown that Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA) affects some 40 million of these individuals. Not only does OSA interfere with one's quality of life, it can be life threatening.

In studies conducted on adults who snore, it was determined that 10%-30%, actually stop breathing while sleeping. OSA results from airway obstruction occurring due to collapse of tissue in the back of the throat or anatomic abnormalities.

OSA has been directly associated with moving vehicle accidents, so states a recent study conducted at the University of California, San Diego. Researchers found of the 1,391 commercial truck drivers studied 28% had moderate to severe obstructive sleep apnea. Just in the year 2000 alone more than 800,000 drivers (nation-wide) with OSA were involved in moving vehicle accidents. Further, it has been estimated that 11.1 billion dollars in costs could have been avoided if drivers with OSA had been properly and successfully treated.

There are some common warning signs associated with OSA such as, excessive daytime sleepiness (drowsiness), depression, morning headaches, bed-wetting, and decreased efficiency on the job and/or at school. The more ominous links to OSA are high-blood pressure, greater incidence of heart attack and stroke and most recently linked, sudden cardiac death.

The gold standard for testing for OSA is the sleep study, also known as "polysomnography". Patients enter the sleep center at dusk and are monitored overnight and are free to leave at dawn. The process includes monitoring of blood oxygen levels, heart tracing, snoring, brain wave activity, muscular activity and the number (and frequency ) of obstructive episodes. The sleep study is a painless process. There are no needles required for testing. Upon completion of the test/study, physicians will review the results with the patient and present medical and surgical options. Patients may find that improvement occurs with adjustments such as, body positioning while sleeping, weight loss, and avoidance of alcohol stimulants and/or sleeping pills at night. Others may qualify for certain dental prosthetic devices that push the jaw forward, increasing airspace posteriorly.

The mainstay of OSA therapy is an oxygen device known as a CPAP (Continuous-Positive Airway Pressure). It comes with a mask that fits snugly over the nose, while a continuous pressure of air passes through and down to the level of the trachea. Most patients respond positively to this form of therapy, with others, surgical intervention is more of an option, removing redundant tissue and may include jaw advancement. Our sleep disorder management team stands ready to provide you with a full medically monitored sleep-study testing, prompt, complete test evaluation, and appropriate plan of treatment. Our goal is to restore you to a good nights sleep and increased quality of life.