If you have high blood pressure or hypertension, you already know how it can affect your daily life. Unfortunately there’s one more way it could be negatively affecting you, especially if your blood pressure is high enough to require treatment with two or more medications. It’s called obstructive sleep apnea, and not only can it cause high blood pressure, high blood pressure may cause sleep apnea.
Why? While it can be attributed to the narrowing of blood vessels as you sleep, it can be more simplified to the fact that those with obstructive sleep apnea may be more likely to be obese or overweight, something that cause both high blood pressure and sleep apnea.
This is why experts recommend if you do have high blood pressure and are being treated with two or medications for blood pressure, that you speak to your doctor about being tested for sleep apnea with a polysomnography diagnostic test.
This test is easy to complete, and can give you a definitive diagnosis of sleep apnea, which will help you get a more restful night’s sleep if diagnosed and treated. It can also help you reduce your hypertension symptoms, and may even allow you to stop taking as many or all high blood pressure symptoms.
Symptoms of sleep apnea include stopping and starting breathing over and over throughout the night, gasping or choking for air throughout the night, snoring, lethargy during the day, anxiety, depression, or worsening of certain medical conditions, including Alzheimer’s disease, some cancers, heart disease, and of course high blood pressure.
If you suffer from any of the above symptoms, speak to your physician or Dr. Abelar about undergoing a sleep apnea diagnosis test, whether at home or at a sleep clinic. Once you have a diagnosis, speak to Dr. Ablear about your treatment options. Gone are the days when CPAP therapy reigned supreme. Today there are more comfortable options, including sleep appliances from Dr. Abelar, which are custom fit to your mouth, and do not require the use of forced air, electricity, or complicated machinery.
To learn more about sleep apnea or sleep appliances, please contact Dr. Abelar’s office today!
