Posted Sept 19, 2013
Business Wire
Recent research by the Utah Valley Regional Medical Center has added to the growing evidence that people who suffer from sleep apnea have a higher risk of stroke. The study also concluded that for someone who has already had a stroke, they are less likely to have another stroke if their sleep apnea has been treated.
Sleep apnea is a serious sleep disorder that occurs when a person’s breathing is interrupted during sleep. People with untreated sleep apnea actually stop breathing during sleep. Each pause in breathing is called an apnea. Apneas typically last between 10 and 20 seconds and can occur 5 to 30 times or more an hour.
Nearly 18 million Americans suffer from sleep apnea, according to the National Sleep foundation. Research shows that, if left untreated, sleep apnea increases the risk of serious health problems that include high blood pressure, dementia, diabetes, depression, skin melanoma, heart attacks, and the worsening of adult congenital heart disease (ACHD).
Source: Chemung Family Dental
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