Sleep apnea: a lethal cardiac twist.Sleep apnea sleep apnea, episodes of interrupted breathing during sleep. Obstructive sleep apnea is a common disorder in which relaxation of muscles in the throat repeatedly close off the airway during sleep; the person wakes just enough to take a gasping breath. : A lethal cardiac twist Adults with a disorder called obstructive sleep apnea Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) A potentially life-threatening condition characterized by episodes of breathing cessation during sleep alternating with snoring or disordered breathing. may face an increased threat of death from heart disease, report Bernard Burack, Danuta L. Rozycki and their colleagues at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine
The Albert Einstein College of Medicine (AECOM) is a graduate school of Yeshiva University. It is a private medical school located in the Jack and Pearl Resnick Campus of Yeshiva University in the Morris Park in New York City New York City: see New York, city. New York City City (pop., 2000: 8,008,278), southeastern New York, at the mouth of the Hudson River. The largest city in the U.S. . This sleep disorder typically interrupts breathing at night and can awaken its sufferers as often as five times an hour, leading to extreme daytime sleepiness, Rozycki says. Despite the loud snoring snoring, rough, vibratory sounds made in breathing during sleep or coma. The noisy breathing is the result of an open mouth and a relaxation of the palate; it is frequently induced by lying on one's back. accompanying the apnea, many people don't recognize the condition, which affects about 2 million individuals in the United States. The New York researchers studied 223 men and women with obstructive sleep apnea, tracking all participants for at least five years and 43 individuals for a decade or longer. During the study, the investigators recorded 35 deaths, 23 of which resulted from heart attack, stroke and other cardiovascular conditions. Statistical analysis revealed that people with obstructive sleep apnea faced double the average risk of dying from cardiovascular disease. The scientists can't completely explain the heightened risk, but Rozycki speculates that frequent nighttime awakenings may place extra strain on the heart. |
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