Sleep Apnea and Your Heart![]() Our bodies are working machines, including many parts working together to make the whole. Obstructive sleep apnea causes a break or disruption in the functioning of our body as a machine. When a person lays down to sleep, this shift makes adjustments in our body, tissue settles differently and muscles relax. As we enter sleep, some of these changes can cause the windpipe to be cut off or reduced in size. This can be due to a number of reasons. Obstructive sleep apnea, or the cinching of our windpipe, can be due to:
How Can Sleep Apnea Affect My Heart?When a person ceases to breathe while sleeping, most often due to an airway restriction, the brain releases adrenaline or a stress hormone. The release of adrenaline wakes the person just enough to gasp for air. The benefit of this natural reaction is getting the oxygen your body needs. The drawback is the frequency that the body has to go without oxygen and jolt to get the oxygen. Most patients will repeat the cessation of breathing and adrenaline to gasp, many, if not hundreds, of times a night, sometimes for years. The results are often inadequate sleep, blended with irritability, increasing your blood pressure, and ultimately, damaging your heart. Patients with obstructive sleep apnea have been found to be at a much higher risk of stroke and heart disease. We can help you diagnose the issue and create a treatment plan to help. |
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![]() All Smiles Sleep Solutions 17200 Camelot Ct. UNIT 101, Land O’Lakes, FL 34638-7279 Call 813-345-8580 Satellite Location: 1180 Ponce DeLeon, Suite 401 Clearwater, FL 34756 |