Sleep Apnea

Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA)

Obstructive sleep apnea happens during sleep when the tongue and soft palate falls to the back of the throat and completely block the airway. This shuts off oxygen intake and you can’t breathe. Your sleep then gets interrupted many times during the night and results in a poor night’s sleep. People with OSA are constantly tired, fall asleep easily during the day, are irritable, have trouble concentrating, exhibit impotency and sexual dysfunction, and have bad breath.

It is estimated that OSA affects up to 40 million Americans with less than 10% of OSA sufferers diagnosed. Obstructive sleep apnea can triple the stroke risk in men and 50% of patients with OSA have hypertension increasing the risk of heart attacks. Untreated OSA can take up to 12 years off your life and increases the risk of death by 46% which makes it more dangerous than smoking. 

Who gets OSA?

1 in 5 adults have mild OSA and 1 in 15 adults have moderate to severe OSA. Risk factors which increase your chance of OSA including weight gain, BMI greater than 30, neck circumference equal to or greater than 15″ in women and 17″ in men, smoking, mouth breathing, and systemic problems like diabetes, stroke, heart attack, and hypertension.

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