Treating Sleep Apnea Improves Heart Function
A recent study in the New England Journal of Medicine showed that heart function could be significantly improved in patients with congestive heart failure. Obstructive sleep apnea is a breathing disorder that occurs during sleep. With sleep onset, the muscles in the body relax. This includes the muscles in the upper airway. These muscles may relax to the point that tissue in the upper airway can vibrate and cause snoring. If there is enough tissue or the airway is small enough, the muscles may relax narrowing the throat to the point that airflow is impaired or even completely stopped. After several seconds of impaired breathing, there is an arousal and breathing resumes. In some cases, these episodes may happen hundreds of times during the night causing poor quality sleep and daytime sleepiness.