The Link Between Sleep Apnea and Hypertension

August 9, 2021

Filed under: Sleep Apnea — Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , — drfedosky @ 10:18 pm

In the last few decades, scientists have concluded that there is a relationship between having Sleep Apnea (with the most common being Obstructive Sleep Apnea or OSA) and having Hypertension. But before we get into what that is, let’s talk about what each disease is.

Sleep Apnea Solutions Dallas

According to the definition from the Mayo Clinic, “Sleep apnea is a potentially serious sleep disorder in which breathing repeatedly stops and starts.”

The definition of hypertension, also from the Mayo Clinic, “High blood pressure (hypertension) is a common condition in which the long-term force of the blood against your artery walls is high enough that it may eventually cause health problems, such as heart disease.”

So how does a disorder that has to do with breathing affect high blood pressure? Research indicates that patients who have sleep apnea are more likely to develop high blood pressure at some point in the future.

Research done by Johns Hopkins Hospital School of Public Health studied more than 6,000 adult men and women age 40 or older. Sleep Apnea was confirmed in participants by using polysomnography, which records brain waves, heart waves, blood oxygen levels, and breathing rate while a person sleeps. Participants were connected to a sleep monitor, and the average number of breathing pauses per hour of sleep was used to measure the severity of Sleep Apnea.

The results of the study showed that people with more than 30 pauses per hour of sleep were more than twice as likely to suffer from high blood pressure than those with no breathing pauses. An increased risk of high blood pressure was found even at moderate levels of sleep apnea. Since sleep apnea is more common in overweight individuals–who are already at a higher risk of high blood pressure–additional statistical analyses were conducted to control for body weight and waist circumference. Even after controlling for these variables, however, sleep apnea was associated with an increased frequency of high blood pressure.

When you come to Sleep Rehab, we’ll give you a sleep test to determine whether or not you have Sleep Apnea through studying your breathing patterns. Once we determine your sleep issues, we can create a customized oral appliance for you, which will eliminate or reduce the effects of your sleep apnea and may help you avoid the life-threatening consequences of hypertension and other conditions. Book an appointment today!

Oral Appliance Spotlight: Whole You™ Respire Blue

July 13, 2021

Filed under: Sleep Apnea — Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , — drfedosky @ 11:19 pm

Feeling exhausted in the morning and throughout the day, despite getting an adequate amount of sleep, is a common side-effect of Obstructive Sleep Apnea (also known as OSA). There are a lot of modern solutions available, but it’s important to find the solution that best fits your needs.

Sleep Rehab prides itself on providing non-invasive and non-surgical solutions for sufferers of OSA. Dr. Fedosky and his team of highly skilled medical professionals provide top-of-the-line products to get you back to a more comfortable life. This month, we’re highlighting an oral appliance, the Whole You™ Respire Blue.

Respire Blue | Whole You Whole You

This product is an alternative solution for something more robust like a CPAP machine. As a customized, personalized mouthpiece, it features a dual block design with interlocking wings. It works by keeping the airway open in any sleep position and allows for a wide range of mouth movements.

The Respire Blue has mesh support that is welded and placed inside the acrylic mouthpiece. This improvement offers one of the strongest dorsal fin designs on the market, it’s easily adjustable, and it has more room in the anterior area which allows the patient to open and close as they please. It is also open in the front to add comfort by increasing the tongue space allowing the patient to inhale and exhale more air per breath.

More details:

  • 4-Wing dorsal fin appliance
  • Dual-block design with more freedom for vertical mouth movement
  • Additional support for lateral movement
  • 1-year manufacturer’s warranty

It should be noted that the Whole You™ Respire Blue is not available for purchase on its own. A sleep test and diagnosis are required, which can be done at Sleep Rehab! Please fill out an appointment form here and we look forward to helping you soon.

The Link Between Weight Loss and Severity of Sleep Apnea

May 11, 2021

Filed under: Sleep Apnea — Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , — drfedosky @ 10:22 pm

You may have heard by now, in your research regarding sleep apnea, that weight plays a role in why you are experiencing symptoms of sleep apnea.
In fact, being overweight or obese is considered one of the primary risk factors of sleep apnea.

According to the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, “Unhealthy eating patterns and lack of physical activity can lead to overweight and obesity, which can result in sleep apnea.”

So, can your sleep apnea be cured by simply losing weight? The short answer is that it’s possible, but not guaranteed.

Weight loss is a known treatment for a variety of diseases such as heart disease and diabetes. Improving your lifestyle habits like eating healthier or increasing the amount of exercise helps your body regulate chemical levels and takes the pressure off of major organs.

In the case of sleep apnea, excess weight creates fat deposits in a person’s neck called pharyngeal fat. Pharyngeal fat can block a person’s upper airway during sleep when the airway is already relaxed. (Source: The Sleep Foundation)

In a study about how weight loss affects obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) patients (OSA), the sleep quality of 72 overweight patients with mild OSA was monitored. The patients switched to a reduced-calorie diet and received counseling about their lifestyles, which resulted in a significant decrease in their BMIs. After losing weight, the subjects’ mean number of apnea events per hour decreased significantly. Post weight-loss, the number of patients with sleep apnea decreased by 75%. 

While that is a significant decrease, it’s important to remember that carrying around extra weight isn’t the only cause of sleep apnea.
People that have a large neck (over 16-17 inches), are over 40, have a nasal obstruction, or have large tonsils are more at risk of suffering from sleep apnea.

If weight loss doesn’t completely help your suffering of sleep apnea, contact Sleep Rehab today for a consultation for a non-invasive, non-surgical solution.

Sleep Apnea and COVID-19

April 14, 2021

Filed under: Sleep Apnea — Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , — drfedosky @ 6:27 pm

It’s been a little over a year since the outbreak of the entirely too familiar COVID-19. We sincerely hope you and your loved ones have remained safe during this time, but the reality is that the disease impacted all kinds of people in different ways, and we sometimes don’t know why. However, with time and knowing what we know now, studies have come out that people diagnosed with Sleep Apnea are at a higher risk for hospitalization for COVID-19.

Why does having Sleep Apnea increase your risk of COVID-19 hospitalization?

Sleep Apnea is associated with higher body mass index (BMI), diabetes, older age and male gender, which are all risk factors for severe COVID-19. Researchers identified 445 individuals with COVID-19, and 38 (8.5%) of them with OSA of whom 19 out of 91 (20.9%) were hospitalized.

Of the patients requiring hospitalization for severe COVID-19, more than 1 in 5 had OSA (Obstructive Sleep Apnea), which was shown to be associated with COVID-19 hospitalization independent from age, sex, BMI, and comorbidities. 

The researchers in the study concluded, “We believe that our finding may help in identifying high-risk individuals for severe forms of COVID-19 infection, and therefore screening for previous indications of OSA could be beneficial among individuals testing positive for the virus.”

Vaccines are rolling out and life is getting a little bit back to normal, but that doesn’t mean you should let your guard down. If you suspect you may have undiagnosed Sleep Apnea, make an appointment to get a sleep test today so you can identify your risk factors early on and avoid hospitalization for COVID-19.

Is Sleep Apena Hereditary?

February 10, 2021

Filed under: Sleep Apnea — Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , — drfedosky @ 2:03 pm

A lot of health disorders originate from genetics, and you may be wondering if your Sleep Apnea is hereditary. It could be that you had a parent that struggled with sleeplessness and snoring and now that you’ve been formally diagnosed, it may have occurred to you that it could run through the family genes.

According to an article on healthline.org, “Research suggests that obstructive sleep apnea is about 40 percent attributable to genetics, which means it can be hereditary.” That is quite a large percentage, especially because the other 60 percent are attributed to environmental and/or lifestyle-related factors. In short, the more relatives you have with Sleep Apnea, the higher percentage that you will also have Sleep Apnea in your lifetime.

You may have children and are worried about passing Sleep Apnea along to them. The good news is that there is not a clear genetic link related to Sleep Apnea, but according to healthline.org, “Additionally, it’s been shown that obesity can have underlying genetic causes. Since obesity is a major risk factor for obstructive sleep apnea, this is an indirect way obstructive sleep apnea is hereditary.”

The important thing to know is that if you can keep your weight at a healthy number, the development or progress of this sleep disorder could subside. However, if you feel like you’ve tried everything and need a successful solution, at Sleep Rehab we offer a variety of non-invasive, non-surgical CPAP alternatives to treat Sleep Apnea.

You can’t choose your genes, but you can choose a solution to an inevitable problem, and we are here for you. Request an appointment at Sleep Rehab today.

Sleeping Postion for Snorers

August 12, 2020

Filed under: Sleep Apnea,Snoring — Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , — drfedosky @ 9:53 pm
When you turn in for the day, you probably don’t think much about what position you end up falling asleep. Maybe you move the pillow around to get comfortable, but you may not realize how you are sleeping is a subtle aid in your overall restfulness for the night. If you find yourself waking up feeling more tired than when you went to bed, it may be time to find a new sleeping position.

woman sleeping peacefully and smiling

Snoring? Try side-sleeping
If you snore, there is a chance you may be suffering from sleep apnea, which is the condition in which your airway gets blocked at night, ultimately restricting your breathing. In order to create better airflow, the best sleeping position to reduce snoring is side-sleeping. Curling up reducing you breathing too deeply, too. If this isn’t natural for you, don’t worry, you’re not alone. The good news is that you can teach yourself to become a side-sleeper.

How do you change your sleeping position?
First, make sure you have a good mattress. If you can fall asleep without interruption of feeling uncomfortable, there is less of a chance to retreating to your old habits. Next, make sure you have pillows that can essentially contour your new sleeping position. For instance, hugging a body pillow can reinforce sleeping on your side and prevent you from turning over on your stomach. But most importantly, as with changing any habit, practice makes perfect. Constantly remind yourself to get back on your side if you wake up in the middle of the night in a different position. Have a spouse help keep you in the right direction, too!

Changing your sleeping position is just one way to try and reduce your snoring due to sleep apnea. If you have tried everything and still waking up listless and exhausted, contact Sleep Rehab today for a consultation. We’re here to help!

Weight and Sleep Apnea: Does One Cause the Other?

July 6, 2020

Filed under: Sleep Apnea — Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , — drfedosky @ 5:59 pm

Which comes first, weight gain from lack of sleep or Sleep Apnea caused by weight gain? Well, the truth is, it can be both. In fact, it can become a vicious cycle if not treated quickly. You may not be able to sleep well at night due to Sleep Apnea, and the exhaustion you experience from a restless night disrupts a healthy routine. It’s not new knowledge that carrying around extra weight comes with additional medical issues, and Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA) can be one of them.

Why Weight Gain Causes Sleep Apnea

Over two-thirds of the U.S. population of the United States is now considered overweight or obese, and it’s estimated that three to seven percent of the U.S. population suffers from Sleep Apnea. So, just because you are overweight does not mean you will develop Sleep Apnea, but it does significantly increase your chances if you do have some additional pounds on you.

The reason for this is, that the excess fat that accumulates around the neck area can obstruct breathing, ultimately leading to a diagnosis of Sleep Apnea.

 

Why Sleep Apnea Causes Weight Gain

Not getting an adequate amount of sleep nightly not only makes you less attentive and reactive, but it can cause weight gain. Lack of sleep changes your hormone levels related to your appetite, and in the increase in hunger makes you eat more than you normally would or even need. Not waking up rested can also cause you to put off healthy habits like a morning jog. The last thing anyone wants to do when they are exhausted is go for a long walk.

 

So how do you stop this cycle from becoming worse and worse? Make an appointment for a consultation with our experts at Sleep Rehab. We have the right tools to help you sleep better and feel better.

Not Sleeping Well During the Pandemic? Try These 3 Tips

May 27, 2020

Filed under: Sleep Apnea — Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , — drfedosky @ 9:50 pm

As busy and sleep-deprived as our lives were pre-COVID-19, there have been mass accounts of sleep issues during this pandemic. Have you been experiencing trouble sleeping during the last two months? Well, rest assured (pun intended) that you’re not alone! Nothing could prepare us for the anxiety, uncertainty, and worry that comes with a global crisis.

However, getting adequate shut-eye with a rampant virus is going on is critical. Sleep boosts your immune system, strengthens your body’s defense system and can even aid in making vaccines (when it comes available) more effective.

In addition to positive effects for the body, a solid night’s rest can improve mood and brain function. We’re so used to making plans and constantly moving, so being asked to slow down and deal with an uncertain future can make you feel anxious and potentially depressed. In other words, we can use all of the mood enhancers we can get!

What can you do to get back to a night of healthy sleep?

Set your schedule.

Set a routine wake-up time even if you’re working from home or currently unemployed. It’s crucial to keep your body on a steady schedule. This also means making time to wind down before bed and going to bed around the same time every night.

Reserve your bed for bedtime.

Working from home means you can probably work anywhere in your house, but leave the work out of the bedroom. Your brain needs to be able to separate work from rest.

Stay active.

Make sure to get outside and go for a walk, jog or bike ride to release your mind of any anxiety and stress related to the pandemic. This will help you sleep better at night!

Like everything, this too shall pass. But in the meantime, take care of your mind and body. If you need additional help sleeping, contact Sleep Rehab for a consultation. We’re here for you!

Your Brain Without Sleep

March 3, 2020

Filed under: Medical,Sleep Apnea — Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , — drfedosky @ 3:06 pm

The alarm goes off. You hit snooze. Can it really be time to get up already? After a night full of tossing and turning and barely getting a total hour of sleep, it’s going to be a rough day. But as much as you feel like you won’t be able to keep your eyes open during the day, it’s not just your body that is exhausted, your brain is too and you might not be as sharp as you need to be today.

In a study published on nature.com, researchers found that not getting an adequate amount of sleep at night makes it challenging for your brain cells to communicate effectively. When your brain cells can’t communicate effectively, it makes it more difficult to concentrate or focus.
The study focused on 12 individuals who were required to stay up all night. During the night, researchers monitored their brain activity by asking them to perform certain tasks like categorizing animals and objects. As the people became more exhausted, it became more challenging for them to perform the tasks, and their brain cells seemed to be slowing down.
“We were fascinated to observe how sleep deprivation dampened brain cell activity,” lead study author Yuval Nir, a sleep researcher at Tel Aviv University in Israel, said in the statement. “Unlike the usual rapid reaction, the neurons responded slowly, fired more weakly and their transmissions dragged on longer than usual.” 
When your brain cells slow down, it can take you more time to process information. The researchers compared the effects of lack of sleep to those of drunk driving. Delayed responsiveness, taking longer to realize what they are seeing, etc.
So next time you wake up exhausted and feel a dip in your performance at work or in your daily life, it’s time to get a wake-up call! Schedule a consult with Sleep Rehab today to sleep better tonight and live your most productive life tomorrow.

New Study: Correlation Between Age Acceleration & Sleep Apnea

December 30, 2019

Filed under: Sleep Apnea — Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , — drfedosky @ 8:11 pm

As a sufferer of Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA), you might be experiencing quite a few side effects including trouble breathing in the middle of the night, waking up unusually exhausted, and others. However short-lived those effects may be, there are other effects of not sleeping through the night that may cause long-term damage, including your lifespan.

Image via abc.net.au

Could untreated sleep apnea result in shaving years off of your life? According to a 2019 study by Oxford, it certainly could.

In this article titled, Sleep Disordered Breathing Associated with Epigenetic Age Acceleration, tested with 53% female and 47% male and an average age of 67.8 found that disruption in your breathing while asleep not only changes your circadian rhythm causing exhaustion, but it also aids in age acceleration.

The scientists that published the article concluded: “Increasing SDB (sleep disordered breathing) [a side effect of OSA] severity and sleep disruption was associated with epigenetic age acceleration, independent of measured confounders.”

Epigenetics refers to the changes that can happen in DNA because of lifestyle and environmental factors that can affect how genes behave. When you don’t get enough sleep, your DNA could be aging faster than it normally would.

In the study, one of the authors stated, “Traditionally, we don’t give as much attention to sleep as we do to exercise or smoking,” says Dr. Li. “But it’s another modifiable risk factor, like smoking, physical inactivity, or poor diet.”

The good news is, epigenetic aging is reversible when treated and could improve cardiovascular and neurobehavioral health.

“Although there is no cure for sleep apnea, recent studies show that successful treatment can reduce the risk of heart and blood pressure problems.” – National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke

At Sleep Rehab, located in the Dallas area, we can provide treatments that have proven time and time again to treat your sleep apnea with the possibility to slow the age acceleration that OSA has caused. These treatments are non-invasive, non-pharmaceutical and non-surgical. No CPAP required. Contact us today to learn more and get started.

 

 

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