Obstructive Sleep Apnea is dangerous medical condition.
Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) can greatly affect the quality of your life. Patients suffer from frequent and painful headaches, memory problems, lack of concentrate and horrible health problems. OSA has a large impact on patient’s personal and professional relationships.
Continuous positive air pressure therapy ( CPAP) is what most medical doctors prescribe. However, a lot of patients find it hard to wear at night as there are many problems with a CPAP. If you hate your CPAP, Dr. Nugent can create a mandibular advancement device. This custom-made appliance pulls the jaw downward and forward to open the airway. Patients are not tethered to a machine and there is no mask covering the face.
Obstructive Sleep Apnea
What is Sleep Apnea?
Sleep apnea occurs when the airway becomes blocked during the night. The most common culprits for this blockage is the tongue and tissue of the neck that occludes the airway.
The lack of oxygen alerts your brain. The brain causes the heart to pump faster tying to deliver more oxygen. Blood pressure is raised trying to help deliver oxygen in the blood. Finally the brain realizes that critical levels have been achieved and the brain signals the body to wake up. The patient wakes up ever so slightly, clears the obstruction and goes back to a deeper sleep. Patients may not realize that this pattern can happen multiple, even hundreds of times during the night.
Besides affecting your quality of life, sleep apnea has major consequences for your overall health. It can contribute to health concerns such as:
- Congestive heart failure
- Sudden Cardiac Death
- Diabetes
- High blood pressure
- Obesity
- Depression
- Headaches or migraines
If you or a loved one has been diagnosed with obstructive sleep apnea, Dr. Nugent and team encourage you to call our office at 832-487-0647. Please schedule a consultation with Dr. Nugent to learn how he can help you reclaim your sleep!