Who is at Sleep Apnea Risk?

 

Sleep apnea is a serious condition that affects a huge number of the human population. The dangers of sleep apnea are varied – the most serious among them being, the sleep apnea risk of stroke, heart attack and inflammation of the blood vessels.

The sleep apnea effects can range from mild sleepiness and tiredness to severe heart ailments and road or air accidents that can take place due to lack of proper sleep and  cognizance. People with the highest risk of sleep apnea are:

• Pilots
• Truck drivers
• Men in general
• Obese people
• Patients who have had kidney transplant

Men at sleep apnea risk

Incidentally, it has been found that more men are affected by sleep apnea than women between the ages of 30 – 60. While 4% of men in the population of the U.S. have apnea, only 2% of women suffer from this condition.

However, it has been noticed that older women have the same number of cases of sleep apnea. Though there is no conclusive proof as to why menopausal women are more likely to contract this condition, it is believed that this is because women tend to gain weight after menopause. In addition, the shape of their neck changes too, and this may add to the sleep apnea risk in older women.

Dangers of sleep apnea in kidney transplant patients

 Studies have found out that sleep apnea risk seems to be much higher in people who have undergone a kidney transplant. Their obstructive sleep apnea is believed to increase the risk of

• high blood pressure
• heart disease
• stroke

The same risk is also found in dialyzed kidney disease patients who were waiting for a transplant.

Dangers of sleep apnea in truck drivers

Sleeplessness in truck drivers is a major concern in the States, considering the fact that there are thousands of deaths taking place each year, due to serious truck accidents. A study by Harvard researchers have found out that mandating Obstructive Sleep Apnea or OSA screenings for the truck drivers will help to reduce the number of crashes in the Nation.

There are a number of truck drivers with sleep apnea and they are more likely to fall asleep on the wheel. This condition is becoming increasingly common as more and more American families are moving towards obesity.

Unfortunately, it has also been found that most truck drivers do not thoroughly follow apnea treatment, thus making things worse. In a country where approximately 2.4 million to 3.9 million licensed commercial drivers are expected to be suffering from sleep apnea, this is a truly serious matter indeed.

Dangers of sleep apnea in Pilots

Sleep derivation, brought on by sleep apnea can pose to be a really fatal risk in pilots. It has been noted that the effects of sleep apnea are irritability, memory loss, impaired moral judgment, hallucinations and so on. A person who is suffering from all these symptoms is, obviously not in the right condition to fly a plane.

A pilot needs to be alert as they have other lives resting on their ability to fly. Any pilot who is diagnosed with this condition is not allowed to fly, unless they are under an effective treatment.

Dangers of sleep apnea in overweight or obese people

Obesity is believed to be a major sleep apnea risk. In fact, sleep apnea prevention can be carried out to a lot extent by staying fit and avoiding excess body fat. The excess body fat results in making the airway passage of your neck smaller thus make it difficult to breathe.

However, this is not to say that all obese people will have apnea, though they are more at risk.

Finally, remember that sleep apnea prevention can be done just by following a few simple lifestyle rules. You can avoid major health risks, just by ensuring that you do your best to stay fit.