Altru Health System

Is your nighttime nuisance merely a nagging sound, or is it harming your heart? REGULAR SNORING MAY keep your spouse awake at night. However, your partner could be the one to alert you to a sleep condition called sleep apnea, where you stop breathing for up to ten seconds multiple times a night. Approximately 18 million people suffer from sleep apnea and could be at risk for serious heart conditions and not even know it. "Sleep apnea goes undiagnosed in many cases,"says Mikhail Kirnus, MD, FACC, cardiologist with Altru Health System. "It causes people to stop breathing in their sleep due to airway obstruction, which makes the body feel like it's lacking oxygen and carbon dioxide is building up." Someone who has sleep apnea could stop breathing briefly at least 40 times in an eight-hour sleep cycle. During these episodes, the flow of oxygen to the brain and bloodstream stops. "Sleep apnea has been linked to hypertension, coronary artery disease, atrial fibrillation and even heart attacks," says Arvind Bansal, MD, pulmonary critical care and sleep medicine physician with Altru."Heart failure is another condition often associated with sleep apnea, because people with sleep apnea often have low oxygen levels at night, which impacts heart function and raises the risk of congestive heart failure." Other warning signs of sleep apnea include feeling tired during the daytime, difficulty focusing on work and problems staying awake while driving, particularly during long- distance commutes. "Sleep apnea and snoring are common problems, but they are underdiagnosed," Dr. Bansal says. "Talking with your physician if you have any warning signs, then getting tested, can help you be proactive and lower your risk." To learn more about Altru's Heart & Vascular team, visit altru.org/heart. Snoring: Annoyance or Warning Sign? When working to diagnose sleep apnea, doctors will often prescribe a sleep study. During a sleep study, the patient is monitored overnight for functions such as heart rate, leg movements and—most importantly for sleep apnea patients— breathing. "We offer free sleep screenings the third Thursday of every month to help people determine their risk for sleep apnea," says Sheila Thompson, CCSH, RPSGT, Altru's Sleep Center. "We ask a series of questions about level of sleepiness and whether or not the patient snores, and we take measurements for body mass index and neck size." Sheila suggests anyone concerned about sleep apnea or other sleep disorders attend one of the screenings. "Raising awareness of the condition itself, as well as the associated major health risks, is one of our main goals," Sheila says. "Sleep is necessary to be healthy, and we can help." Find details on free sleep screens at altru.org/sleep. SLEEP SOUNDLY 3 V1N2 | Tips + Insight from your local experts at Altru Health System

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