Sleep Disorders Information

Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA) is a debilitating, often life-threatening condition that afflicts 18 million Americans or roughly 20 percent of the U.S. adult population. For those who have it, breathing stops during sleep in intervals that may last from 10 seconds to a minute or longer as a result of a collapsed airway that prevents air from getting into the lungs. This disrupts healthy sleep and causes a number of short-term and long-lasting effects that threaten the health and well-being of those who suffer from the condition.

  • OSA afflicts 18 million Americans, yet as many as 90 percent remain undiagnosed. Could you be one of them?
  • Approximately 1 in 5 adults has at least mild OSA and 1 in 5 adults has OSA of moderate or worse severity.
  • Those who suffer from OSA stop breathing as frequently as 60 times an hour or up to 400 times a night.
  • Data shows that 80 percent of drug-resistant hypertension patients suffer from some form of sleep-disordered breathing.

Are you at Risk?

Clinical studies have shown that Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA) can occur in men, women and children of all ages and sizes. While OSA diagnosis tends to be more prevalent among men, studies have shown that women and children are less likely to be evaluated, leading to lower diagnosis rates.

Common symptoms of OSA include:

  • Excessive daytime sleepiness
  • Loud, disruptive snoring
  • Nocturnal pauses in breathing
  • Gasping or choking for air during sleep
  • Restless sleep
  • Depression and irritability
  • Sexual dysfunction
  • Feeling of grogginess, dullness and morning headaches

Risk Groups:

  • People who are overweight
  • Men and women with large neck sizes: 17” for men, 16” or more for women
  • Middle-aged and older men, and postmenopausal women
  • People with abnormalities of the bony and soft tissue structure of the head and neck
  • Children with large tonsils and adenoids
  • Anyone who has a family member with OSA

If you have Obstructive Sleep Apnea:

  • See your doctor. Evaluation by a doctor specializing in sleep disorders is recommended.
  • Have a sleep study performed. A sleep study can provide the doctor with information about how you sleep and breathe. This information will help the doctor to determine your diagnosis and treatment options.

Click here to download our Sleep Disorders Questionnaire

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