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An important wake-up call

Snoring? It could be an indication of sleep apnoea

SLEEPING ON THE JOB? Those suffering from sleep apnoea are often tired

A sound sleep is essential for health. But beware if you snore. No wonder Mark Twain remarked "Don't ever go to sleep. Too many people die there... "

Snoring by itself may not be harmful. About 60 per cent of the population snore. Many in this group are prone to "innocent snoring," which is quite harmless apart from being a social nuisance. But some people who are prone to snoring stop breathing when they sleep. They are said to suffer from sleep apnoea, which is a serious medical problem. It is common and potentially treatable condition, but most often remains unidentified.

If you snore, it is advisable for you to undergo screening for this disease.

Symptoms

The typical patient with sleep apnoea is a middle-aged man, usually overweight and most often a social drinker. Most of them have early morning headaches, suffer from lapses of concentration and are often excessively tired. It is noticed that after a spell of loud snoring, there is a period of total silence - wherein the person unknowingly stops breathing. This is followed by a sudden, loud noise and the person starts to breathe again. This is often noticed by the patient as a choking sensation during sleep. These events keep repeating, hundreds of time night after night.

Most persons suffering from sleep apnoea will feel sleepy during the day. This often happens while reading a newspaper, watching television or even while travelling in a car. There are even instances of sleep apnoeics falling asleep on the wheel, while being caught in a traffic jam or waiting for the signal to turn green. It has been estimated that annually more than one million motor vehicle crashes are sleep related. Equally important are the medical problems that are associated with sleep apnoea. These include high blood pressure, stroke, heart attack, heart failure and diseases affecting the rhythm of the heart. Prolonged spells of apnoeas (periods of not breathing) during sleep can also result in death since apnoeas result in a dramatic drop in oxygen content of blood and hence vital organs of the body become deprived of oxygen. These deaths, which from time immemorial have been described as the person "quietly passing away during sleep," are in fact on account of sleep apnoea and could have been averted with timely diagnosis and treatment.

Sleep labs

The diagnosis of sleep apnoea is done in specialised "sleep labs" wherein the patient is monitored overnight during sleep. There are various treatment options and these depend upon the severity of the disease.

An estimated nine per cent of the population suffers from sleep apnoea. This figure far exceeds the prevalence of common diseases like diabetes and asthma. Unfortunately, there is very little awareness about this disease and hence not even a fraction of patients with sleep apnoea are diagnosed or treated. Sadly, most of them succumb to the disease or its complications, which could have been averted with timely intervention.

DR. P. ARJUN

The author is a city-based consultant pulmonologist and sleep specialist.

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