What Happens If You Don’t Treat Sleep Apnea?

Sleep apnea is a sleeping disorder characterized by blockage of breathing airways at different intervals throughout the night. The brain protects you by waking you up when less oxygen reaches it, ensuring continued breathing. This condition makes the patient wake up tired and unable to perform their daily duties as required. Therefore, it is essential to look for sleep apnea treatment in Mesa, AZ, to ensure you have a peaceful and fruitful night. So, what happens when you don’t go for sleep apnea treatment? We will tell you the effects of not going for sleep apnea treatment and why you should have this sleeping condition treated as soon as possible.

What Are The Dangerous Complications Of Sleep Apnea?

Failure to have sleep apnea treated can result in dangerous complications.

First, it can lead to heart failure and damage. Sleep apnea leads to an increase in pressure in the blood vessels located in the heart and its chambers. When the pressure increases, its strains the heart, and this damages it leading to heart failure.

Secondly, sleep apnea can cause unexplained cardiac arrest. Other than causing heart damage, sleep apnea can lead to problems with the rhythm of the heartbeat, making it beat too quickly or slowly. This irregular heartbeat can lead to a lethal condition known as sudden cardiac death.

Another complication of sleep apnea is daytime drowsiness. As discussed earlier, sleep apnea causes blockage of breathing airways making the person wake involuntarily throughout the night for continued breathing. Due to this, the person will wake up feeling tired, and this will be throughout the day. Although daytime drowsiness is not a severe condition, it can be risky depending on what you’re doing during the day. For instance, if you’re operating machinery or driving, you can doze off, causing harm to yourself and others.

What Are Other Complications of Sleep Apnea?

• The patient is frustrated or irritated: this is caused by sleep deprivation.
• There is reduced focus: when you’ve had a restless night, it can be challenging to focus on your daily activities or tasks.
• Snoring, accompanied by choking or gasping: will affect the person sleeping next to you.

How Is Sleep Apnea Treated?

Now that you know the complications of sleep apnea and how it can be risky living with it, what are the treatment options?

For a mild sleep apnea case, the dentist near you will recommend changing your lifestyle habits, like working out more often and quitting smoking. Moreover, the dentist in 85206 can illustrate a better sleeping condition to prevent blockage of breathing airways while asleep. Nasal allergies can also worsen sleep apnea, so you should inquire about treating your problem with your dentist.

There are other obstructive sleep apnea treatments:

• Continuous positive airway pressure: also known as CPAP, can treat moderate to severe sleep apnea conditions. The machine provides air pressure through a mask you will be advised to wear while asleep. This treatment works by providing enough pressure to maintain the upper airway passages open to prevent the condition, which also leads to snoring.
• Oral appliances: there are other oral appliances that are designed to keep your throat open. Although the CPAP machine is reliable, there are oral appliances that might be easier to use. This is because some people give up on wearing the CPAP mask, so the oral appliances can work better. Check-in with the dentist in 85206 to learn more about these oral appliances. You will find a variety of them to choose from which suits you.
• Surgeries: if the above treatments can not reduce sleep apnea symptoms, different surgeries can be performed to reduce the effects. The surgeries will be done on your throat, mouse, or nose, and this will prevent blockage of the airways.

How Can You Reduce Dangerous Complications Of Sleep Apnea?

• Avoiding caffeine and alcohol 8 hours before bedtime.
• Working out regularly to keep weight in check.
• Avoiding sleeping during the day to ensure you sleep better at night.
• Managing other health conditions like diabetes and high cholesterol can alleviate the sleeping disorder.

Now that you know how sleep apnea can cause dangerous conditions, it would be best to have it treated. Visit Taylor Made Sleep, and our dentist will examine you and recommend the most suitable treatment for your sleeping condition.