Think the headline is a little overboard? Not if you believe studies, such as the one from 2008 in the journal Sleep that followed 1,522 people over 18 years and found those with sleep apnea were 3.8 times more likely to die than those without.

Sleep apnea causes you to stop breathing while asleep. Each episode may last a few seconds. You may have five to 30 or more episodes per minute. There are two types.

Central sleep apnea occurs because your brain is actually not telling you to breathe properly. Various underlying diseases can cause it.

Obstructive sleep apnea occurs when the tissue in the back of your throat relaxes and blocks your airway during sleep. This is the most common and the one we’re talking about.

Almost all with obstructive sleep apnea snore loudly.

Common symptoms of obstructive sleep apnea are:

• Waking up fatigued
• Drowsiness throughout the day
• Morning headaches
• Weight gain
• Dry throat

Health risks of obstructive sleep apnea include:

• High blood pressure
• Diabetes
• Heart attack
• Heart failure
• Irregular heartbeats

Diagnosis is done during an overnight stay in a sleep lab.

Treatment of obstructive sleep apnea includes:

• Continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP), consisting of a nasal or facial mask hooked to a machine that produces a gentle air flow into your airway to keep it open at all times
• Oral devices to keep your airway open
• Surgery

Treatment relieves symptoms. CPAP is the most common and usually preferred treatment, if you can tolerate the mask. There have been few long-term studies to see if any treatment actually decreases your risk for dying. Stay tuned for those. The study in Sleep did reveal the risk of death went from 3.8 to three times normal in those who had tried CPAP.

Copyright 2008 Hubbard Publishing LLC, all rights reserved. You may reprint at no cost under the eZine terms of service.

See videos and blogs of my experience with the sleep-lab test and treatment at James Hubbard’s My Family Doctor. There, you’ll also find more articles written by health-care professionals. This article is for information only. Always see your health-care provider for individual diagnosis and treatment.

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