Dental Surgeons Say They've Found Why Snoring Can Kill

Snoring can indicate serious upper airway disorders. Blocked airways increase blood pressure, damaging arteries and leading to stroke

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -- Dental surgeons discover why snoring can kill: It can actually cause damage to the arteries.

Although considered harmless, snoring can actually indicate a serious medical condition called sleep apnea. Marked by irregular breathing, sleep apnea often causes sufferers to stop breathing completely for up to several seconds and has even been linked to stroke and heart disease in some patients.

"When persons with sleep apnea fall asleep, their tongue falls back into their throat, blocking their airway," Dr. Arthur Friedlander, an oral surgeon who worked on the study conducted at University of California's School of Dentistry, said in a statement.

"As they struggle for breath, their blood pressure soars...This rise in blood pressure damages the inner walls of the carotid arteries lining the sides of the neck," he added. "Cholesterol and calcium stick to the injury sites and amass into calcified plaques, which block blood flow to the brain. The result is often a massive stroke."

According to Dr. Friedlander, these deposits of calcium deposits are merely the tip of the iceberg. "The X-ray can't show the true size of the plaque, which is also made up of fat, platelets, and other soft tissue." When a person is suffering from sleep apnea, air cannot flow in or out of the nose or mouth. Oxygen is not taken in so carbon dioxide builds to dangerous levels in the blood.

"It's like pressing a pillow over someone's face," Friedlander said.

Are Kids Snoring Their Way To ADHD?

CNN Headline News
Researchers conclude sleepiness and apnea may be exhibited as symptoms of ADHD.

CHICAGO, Illinois (AP) -- New research suggests children who snore face nearly double the risk of being inattentive and hyperactive, providing fresh evidence of an intriguing link between sleep problems and attention deficit disorders.

CNN Headline News recently reported on a study that new research suggests children who snore face nearly double the risk of being inattentive and hyperactive, providing fresh evidence of an intriguing link between sleep problems and attention deficit disorders.

Children's behaviorial problems may be linked to their sleep habits, according to a new study. Children who snore often are nearly twice as likely as other children to have attention and hyperactivity problems, found a new study by the University of Michigan Health System. The results, published in the March issue of the journal Pediatrics, provide some of the most solid evidence ever of a link between sleep problems and behavior. The link is strongest in boys under 8. Snorers in this group were more than three times more likely than non-snorers to be.

The National Commission on Sleep Disorders Research estimates that 38,000 cardiovascular deaths, due to sleep apnea, occur each year in the US. Over the long term, serious sleep apnea conditions have been linked to a greater risk of hypertension and cardiovascular diseases. However, sleep apnea was not well understood or recognized by the medical community until recently. And only a fraction of sufferers have been diagnosed and treated.

Depression and Insomnia in Women
One of the main concerns with lack of sleep for women is depression contributed to lack of sleep. If you suffer from sleep apnea your unable to get the needed rest to handle the day-to-day activities. This affects a woman's hormone level, which will cause more sensitivity, mood swings, and irritability. Many women who are in search of more satisfying slumber are buying a hormone called Melatonin. Doctors have found that a high percentage of depressed patients suffer from insomnia, which compounds the depression. Women have a higher chance of insomnia after menopause.

The American College of Cardiology found that 33 percent of 71,779 female nurses aged 40 to 65 who snored were more at risk of developing cardiovascular disease that those who did not snore. Sleep apnea affects up to 2 percent of the female population.

Love Handles and Fat Gain in Men
Men who suffer with obstructive sleep apnea often gain weight in the abdomen due to the process of age. As men age, they typically get less and less sleep. With less deep sleep or slow wave sleep there is less bodily production of the growth hormone.

That deficiency is associated with increased fat tissue and abdominal obesity, reduced muscle mass and strength, and reduced exercise capacity, Obstructive sleep apnea suffers never get a good nights sleep, because repeated arousals deprive the patient of deep-sleep stage, leading to chronic daytime exhaustion and long-term risk of hypertension and cardiovascular disease. 10 percent of all men snore in the United States, 2 percent of those actually have the disorder.

What Do Snoring And Allergies Have In Common?
Like most allergies, most people are not born with a snore; they simply acquire it over a period of time
As we grow older, many develop the habit of sleeping with their mouths open. This allows the jaw to relax and drop excessively during sleep. As a result, the skin, tissue, and muscles in the throat are stretched beyond normal ranges for an extended time (several hours each night). It's important to take deliberate corrective action for this habit otherwise, you could be setting the stage for developing serious medical problems such as OSA, artery damage and stroke. New estimates from The National Sleep Foundation suggest that 24% of adult men and 9% of adult women (approximately 1 billion people globally) are estimated to suffer from some degree of OSA.

OSA is among the most common and most dangerous types of sleep disorders. An estimated 16% of the global population have the condition, which is marked by repeated episodes of cessation of breathing during sleep that over time can lead to high blood pressure, cardiac disease, and disordered thinking.

The closing of the upper airway while sleeping causes OSA. The uvula and soft palate relax and collapse on the back wall of the upper airway. Then the tongue relaxes and falls backward, collapsing on the back wall of the upper airway. The uvula and soft palate form a tight blockage, preventing any air from entering the lungs. The effort of the diaphragm, the chest and the abdomen only cause the blockage to seal tighter. In order to breathe, the person must arouse or awaken, causing tension in the tongue thereby opening the airway, allowing air to pass into the lungs. The arousals usually offer hundreds of times each night, but they do not fully awaken the person who remains unaware of the loud snoring, choking, and gasping for air that are typically associated with OSA.

As a result, OSA sufferers never get a "good nights sleep" because repeated arousals deprive patients of REM (deep sleep stage) leading to chronic daytime exhaustion and long-term cardiovascular stress. People who are obese are likely to have OSA due to the excess tissue around the throat and neck. Those with receding chin lines are also at higher risk for developing obstructive sleep disorder.

"Virtually all heart attacks come down to a failure to deliver oxygen to the hardworking heart muscle,1" Philip Stavish, M.D. OSA causes a drop in blood oxygen saturation (SaO2) and an increase in the blood's carbon dioxide (CO2). When the SaO2 drops, the heart will start pumping more blood. With each beat, the SaO2 continues to drop and the heart beats faster and faster. As the CO2 increases the brain will try to drive the person to breathe. The effort and action of the abdomen and chest will increase. Eventually that action can become severe enough to cause an arousal, (but the arousal does not fully awaken the person) causing the person to "catch their breath," clearing the upper airway blockage and allowing the person to breathe. Then it happens all over again.

It is also important to remember that when the immune system is compromised by a lack of oxygen, we are more susceptible to opportunistic bacteria, viral, and parasitic infections and colds, as well as flu. Oxygen deprivation can also lead to life-threatening disease, such as cancer. Cancer and most other infections or disease cannot live in an oxygen-rich environment.

"Cancer has only one prime cause. It is the replacement of normal oxygen respiration of the body's cells by an anaerobic (i.e., oxygen deficient) cell respiration2 ."


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1 "Oxygen Deficit Linked to Heart Problems," Journal of Longevity, Vol. 4/No. 5, 1998.
2 Dr. Otto Warburg, The Prime Cause and Prevention of Cancer, The Lindau Lecture, Germany, Wurzburg, Germany: K. Trilsch. 1966, English, translation by D. Burke, 1969.

Obstructive Sleep Apnea
With the increased awareness in the doctor and patient communities, a growing number of new OSA patients are expected to be identified in the next few years.

Researchers and clinicians have recognized OSA as one of the most common sleep disorders and with perhaps the greatest medical and social impact on society in terms of morbidity and mortality. The syndrome strikes all sexes and all races, ages, socioeconomic strata, and ethnic groups, though it is less common in women prior to menopause, and may be more common in blacks than in whites.