When Snoring Is More Than a Bad Soundtrack

Roaring snores that rumble a room or violent snorts for breath during sleep could be sounds of obstructive sleep apnea. While a true diagnosis is only possible with a sleep study, if left untreated, the sleep disorder could be fatal.

Typical symptoms include shallow breathing or stoppage in breathing while asleep. Sufferers can stop breathing for periods of seconds or minutes - upward of hundreds of times a night in some cases.

Though everyone is susceptible, overweight people are 70 percent more likely to suffer from it, says Dr. Philip Alapat, medical director, Sleep Disorders Center, Harris County Hospital District, and assistant professor, Pulmonary, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine, Baylor College of Medicine.

As head of the Harris County Hospital District Sleep Disorders Center, a nationally certified facility by the American Academy of Sleep Medicine, Alapat sees hundreds of overweight and obese patients suffering from the deadly sleep disorder. Annually, the center performs about 1,200 studies to evaluate patients for a variety of sleep disorders, including apnea, insomnia, restless legs syndrome, narcolepsy and chronic fatigue syndrome.

“A cardinal recommendation physicians make to overweight or obese patients suffering from obstructive sleep apnea is to lose weight. Losing weight usually reduces or eliminates some of the effects and symptoms. We see it all the time, people who lose weight see an improvement, but people who gain weight have a worsening of symptoms,” he says.

Aside from a restless sleep, sufferers increase their risk for high blood pressure, diabetes, heart attacks and stroke.

Signs of obstructive sleep apnea include:

• Repeatedly tired
• Dosing off during work, driving or other activities
• Lack of concentration when performing activities
• Fatigued even after sleeping the recommended 7-8 hours a day

Snoring Is Not Necessarily Sleep Apnea It is important to distinguish between snoring and OSA. Many people snore. It's estimated that approximately 30% to 50% of the US population snore at one time or another, some significantly. Everyone has heard stories of men and women whose snoring can be heard rooms away from where they are sleeping.

Snoring of this magnitude can cause several problems, including marital discord, sleep disturbances and waking episodes sometimes caused by one's own snoring. But, snoring does not always equal OSA; sometimes it is only a social inconvenience. Still, even a social inconvenience can require treatment, and there are several options available to chronic snorers.

The sleep disorder is twice as likely among men and is more common among smokers, sufferers of chronic nasal congestion and hypertension. However, being overweight is still the biggest risk factor.