Risks of Sleep Apnea

The risks of sleep apnea must be taken seriously and with considerable caution, as the health consequences of this medical condition can be life altering and in some cases potentially life threatening. In other words, the importance of quality sleep to a person’s overall health cannot be understated.

A lack of restful sleep for one night may leave an individual unusually irritable or moody, feeling excessively tired, may cause a lack of concentration during the day and may even cause one to be forgetful. However, the continual lack of restful sleep night-after-night for years on end can lead to various comorbidities that have the potential to impact and alter one’s own life and that of their family members as well.

Understand Your Risks

Due to the lack of quality sleep and thus the inability to receive the restorative benefits of sleep, untreated sleep apnea increases the likelihood of:

  • High blood pressure
  • Heart disease
  • Heart attack
  • Atrial fibrillation
  • Stroke
  • Type 2 diabetes
  • Alzheimer’s disease
  • Weight gain
  • Sexual dysfunction
  • Depression
  • Daytime fatigue
  • Metabolic syndrome
  • Fatal cancers
  • Acid reflux
  • Allergies
  • Asthma

In addition to these health effects, bed partners are also adversely affected by their partner’s snoring and restless habits by losing on average over 1 hour of sleep per night.

Besides the immediate, personal health consequences, research has revealed the extreme cost of sleep apnea to individuals, communities, businesses, and even on a national level.

Although difficult to precisely calculate, the healthcare costs of the aforementioned comorbidities and hospitalization for them, the loss of productivity in the workplace due to absenteeism and presenteeism, motor vehicle and workplace accidents and the like contribute to total approximations in the hundreds of billions of dollars—all from something that is treatable.

In fact, the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, a division of the National Institute of Health, estimates that undiagnosed sleep apnea alone costs the U.S. $150 billion, annually.

While the cost and thus financial burden of untreated sleep apnea may be significant for families, businesses, and even the nation, no cost or burden is comparable to that of a life that is impacted, altered, or lost. Sleep apnea is a progressive medical condition that becomes more severe overtime as it is left untreated.

Thankfully, all of these health risks and burdens can be avoided by a simple and comfortable means of treatment. Please do not wait until it is too late. The cost is just too significant to ignore. Please contact us today to schedule a free consultation.

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