Did you know that getting a good night’s rest plays an important role in your heart’s health? At Integrative Cardiology Center of Long Island, we emphasize the importance of sleep for your heart health. Obstructive sleep apnea is a condition that can increase your risk of heart complications, so our team would like to share some information so that our patients know what to look out for with this condition.
What is Obstructive Sleep Apnea?
Obstructive sleep apnea is a prevalent sleep disorder that causes your breathing to repeatedly start and stop as you sleep. Sleep apnea occurs when your airways become blocked as your throat muscles relax. You might be experiencing sleep apnea if you have the following symptoms:
- Sleepiness during the daytime.
- Snoring loudly.
- Episodes of stopped breathing during sleep.
- You have a dry mouth or sore throat upon waking.
- You wake up with a headache.
- You have trouble concentrating during the day.
- Irritability.
The tell-tale symptom of obstructive sleep apnea is chronic snoring, but not everyone who snores has sleep apnea. You may not even be aware of your snoring or sleeping problems. Most often, patients find out that they have an issue from their bed partner, roommate, or family member.
Causes of Obstructive Sleep Apnea
As previously mentioned, obstructive sleep apnea occurs when your airway gets blocked during sleep, but several other factors can increase your risk of blockage and sleep apnea:
- Excess weight.
- Chronic nasal congestion.
- Hypertension.
- Narrowed airways.
- Asthma.
- Family history of sleep apnea.
- Smoking
Treating Obstructive Sleep Apnea
Obstructive sleep apnea is a condition that is associated with hypertension, atrial fibrillation, heart failure, and stroke. Sleep apnea can also make it more challenging to lose weight. At Integrative Cardiology Center of Long Island, we use a non-invasive home testing device called WatchPAT to provide sleep solutions to our patients. Our sleep solutions can potentially help patients decrease their oxidative stress and inflammation and lessen the impact of obstructive sleep apnea-related conditions. One of the most severe health issues associated with sleep apnea is cardiovascular problems, so if you find yourself dealing with obstructive sleep apnea, you should not hesitate to seek help from our office.
Contact ICCLI
Obstructive sleep apnea should be taken very seriously, so it is important to take action as soon as possible. Our team at Integrative Cardiology Center of Long Island can help evaluate your sleeping patterns and develop a plan to keep your heart healthy! To learn more, contact us to schedule an appointment today!