In the first article of the #ItsMoreThanSnoring campaign, we explored just what sleep apnea is, and why it’s something that shouldn’t be treated lightly. If you are unaware of what sleep apnea is, please visit this link.

Where can sleep apnea really cause a problem for people? Their hearts!

“Having untreated sleep apnea is medically equivalent to smoking a pack of cigarettes a day in terms of what it does to your health,” says Jerome Siegel, Ph.D. and Director of the Center for Sleep Research at UCLA’s Department of Psychiatry, about sleep apnea in relation to heart health.

We all know the extremely strong link between smoking cigarettes daily and heart disease. It’s quite startling that having untreated sleep apnea is akin to smoking so many cigarettes.

Currently, heart disease is the leading cause of death in the United States. The number of heart related problems people experience could be greatly reduced if more people were aware of the affects that their untreated sleep apnea could have on it.

“The evidence is very strong for the relationship between sleep apnea and hypertension and cardiovascular disease generally, so people really need to know that,” says Donna Arnett, Ph.D., chair and professor of epidemiology at the School of Public Health at the University of Alabama at Birmingham and the incoming president of the American Heart Association.

Many of Americans live a lifestyle that can have adverse effects on the heart, whether it be smoking, drinking, lack of exercise or poor diet, so it’s no surprise that Americans are leading the way to heart disease. Sleeping is something that we MUST do, and if during sleep you are further damaging your heart due to untreated sleep apnea, the risk of heart disease dramatically increases.

If you read this and know someone who is suffering with heart problems and could also be suffering from sleep apnea, please share this information. The goal of this campaign is to increase the awareness of this potentially life-threatening condition.

Here at Somerville Dental Sleep Medicine we put a special focus on treating patients who are currently suffering from sleep apnea. Please contact us if you or someone you know is dealing with this disease.