sleep-apnea-horazontal

Sleep Apnea

YOU HAVE SLEEP APNEA

Sleep apnea is a common disorder in which you may have one or more pauses in breathing or shallow breaths while you sleep. These breathing pauses can last from a few seconds to minutes. They may occur 30 or more times per hour. Usually normal breathing then starts again.

Sleep apnea is a condition which disrupts your sleep. It causes you to move out of deep sleep and into light sleep. As a result, the quality of your sleep becomes poor. This makes you tired during the day. Sleep apnea is the leading cause of excessive daytime sleepiness.

Untreated sleep apnea can:

  • Increase the risk of high blood pressure, heart attack, stroke, obesity and diabetes
  • Increase the risk of heart failure
  • Make irregular heartbeats more likely
  • Increase the chance of having work-related accidents
  • Increase the chance of having motor vehicle accidents

Sleep apnea is a chronic condition that requires long-term management. Lifestyle changes, oral appliances, surgery and breathing devices can successfully treat sleep apnea for many people.

The gold standard of care is the use of a continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) breathing device. However, many people are unable to tolerate CPAP masks. For those people, or those with mild sleep apnea, an oral device may be the treatment of choice.

Dr. Leonard has been successfully treating sleep apnea patients for years. We accept referrals from a number of area ENT physicians for oral appliance therapy.

If you wish to see Dr. Leonard prior to having a medical evaluation, we will do an initial evaluation of your symptoms. Then you will be referred to an ENT physician for further evaluation. Sleep apnea can become a life-threatening problem. We want to make sure that the full extent of your symptoms has been properly diagnosed. Then, and only then, will you have all the information you need to make an informed decision regarding the treatment most appropriate for your condition. Should an oral appliance be the treatment of choice, we will be ready to provide your care.