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Sleep Apnea Facts Explained |
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Snoring is a bothersome, although largely harmless, habit. Sleep apnea, on the other hand, is a medical disorder that can lead to serious consequences.
Sleep apnea occurs when a person is unable to get sufficient oxygen into their system while sleeping. Periods of apnea can last 10 seconds or longer, and often cause the afflicted person to wake in the night, gasping for air.
Here are some common sleep apnea facts:
* In America alone, sleep apnea may be prevalent in as many as 18 million people. That means that approximately 1 in every 15 Americans, or 6.62% of the total American population, suffer with sleep apnea.
* An estimated two to four percent of all Americans suffer with undiagnosed sleep apnea. This means that one in fifty individuals remain undiagnosed.
* Researchers at the University of California's San Diego campus studied 54 African Americans and 346 Caucasians for presence of sleep apnea. The results showed that 17 percent of African American participants and 8 percent of Caucasian subjects presented with cases of obstructive sleep apnea.
* More than 263,000 children per year undergo tonsillectomies. Many of these surgeries are performed to correct tonsils that obstruct the airway and cause sleep apnea.
* People who suffer with sleep apnea face a steep increase in the likelihood of being involved in a traffic accident. Their sleeplessness at night causes lack of concentration during the day. Apnea sufferers are six times more likely to die in a car accident. In fact, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has stated that drowsy driving is responsible for at least 100,000 car accidents, 40,000 injuries and 1,550 deaths every year.
* Those with untreated cases of sleep apnea are four times as like to suffer from stroke as those who are not afflicted. Further, untreated sleep apnea sufferers are three times as likely to develop heart disease.
* The partners of people with untreated obstructive sleep apnea can also suffer from a serious lack of sleep. Due to the breathing and gasping of an apnea sufferer, the bedmate loses up to an hour of sleep per night. This was discovered when researchers conducted a study to measure the effects of CPAP treatment in helping the bedmates to sleep.
* Roughly half of all hospital patients who suffer from hypertension are also afflicted with sleep apnea. Similarly, about half of all sleep apnea sufferers are also diagnosed with hypertension.
* On an average night, a man or woman suffering with obstructive sleep apnea may experience 60 apneas per hour. This adds up to an astounding average of 400 apneas per night.
These statistics prove what sufferers already know: sleep apnea is not a problem to be taken lightly. There is good news: the risks of mortality faced by those with untreated obstructive sleep apnea can be significantly reduced with various treatment options.
If you think that you may suffer from sleep apnea, speak with your doctor and begin treatment.
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