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HowToPreventHeartDisease.com |
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Don't Ignore Signs of Heart Attack! People who experience excessive daytime sleepiness, having morning headaches and cannot concentrate are nothing special as these signs are fairly common nowadays. However, doctors and health experts might not agree with this statement. In a study conducted by National University Hospital (NUH) in Singapore, the researchers found that male patients, who have Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA) and meanwhile have these symptoms, are more likely to develop heart attack. The 105 acute heart attack patients, of whom 98 percent were men, took part in the overnight sleep study, which was conducted over 2 to 5 days between January 2007 and April 2008. The results were very surprising and the data was never known before in literature. When a person's upper airway is completely or partially blocked during sleep, he or she is said to have OSA. People with OSA also unknowingly stop breathing repeatedly while asleep. The disorder affects 15 percent of Singaporeans, and there are two-thirds of people who did not know they had OSA. According to the researchers, OSA patients are known to be likely victims of hypertension (high blood pressure), platelet clotting dysfunction, and diabetes, which would have higher risk of developing heart disease.
While previous studies had examined patients with a variety of heart disease, the current study focused mainly on Asians who suffered heart attack. Patients often regard OSA as an isolated condition but studies have already shown that heart disease patients with OSA are at a higher risk of getting a recurrence of their heart disease even after ballooning procedures. Most people do not think OSA as serious medical condition. In the recent study carried out by Philips Electronics in Japan, the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany and the Netherlands, two-thirds of 2,500 respondents said it is not necessary to deal with snoring. By the way, snoring is a key symptom of OSA. With 13.6 percent of men and 4.3 percent of women in Singapore were affected by OSA, studies show this is significantly higher than the Asian prevalence of symptomatic OSA in middle-aged men (4.1 to 7.5 percent) and women (2.1 to 3.2 percent), as announced by Philips Electronics during June 2009. Chronic partial-sleep deprivation is common, and sleep apnea is one of the major sleep problems, as pointed out by Singapore Sleep Society. However, people with symptoms like heavy snoring, morning headaches and difficulty in concentration should seek help from their doctors. Continuous Positive Airway Pressure therapy, which gently pushes air through the nasal passage using a mask, is commonly used to treat patients with OSA. Such therapy can prevent the airway from collapsing. Proper treatment of OSA can greatly improve quality of sleep as well as health. If untreated, OSA may lead to high blood pressure, heart attack or heart failure, according to experts in the field of respiratory. In a separate study by NUH, which was published this month in Chest, the researchers found that diabetic patients are 3 times more prone to OSA. Chest is the official journal of the American College of Chest Physicians. The team is currently exploring if OSA contributes to any long-term negative impact on heart attack patients.
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