Sleep apnea is a common condition in the United States with more than 3 million cases identified in the U.S. annually. It is a potentially life threatening condition in which breathing starts and stops over and over again throughout the time a person is sleeping.
In this podcast, Lindsay Murphy, Registered Respiratory Therapist at Meritus Health, discusses sleep apnea and the treatment options available so that you can get the restful, good nights sleep you deserve.
Selected Podcast
Sleep Apnea: What You Need to Know
Featured Speaker:
Lindsay Murphy, RRT
Lindsay Murphy is a Registered Respiratory Therapist and has worked in the Respiratory Department at Meritus Health’s Equipped for Life for 3 years. Lindsay has certifications in Respiratory Therapy and specializes in Sleep. Her interests include spending time with her family, the beach and health and wellness. She enjoys the outdoors and encourages others to take control of their health. Transcription:
Sleep Apnea: What You Need to Know
Melanie Cole (Host): Sleep apnea is such a common condition, but how do you know if you even have it? My guest today, is Lindsay Murphy. She's a Registered Respiratory Therapist at Meritus Health. Welcome to the show, Lindsay. What is sleep apnea?
Lindsay Murphy (Guest): Sleep apnea is a sleep breathing disorder. It’s when a patient repeatedly starts and stops breathing throughout the time they’re sleeping. It comes in two forms. There is obstructive in nature, or there is where it is due to a lack of brain signals. In obstructive sleep apnea, your airway becomes blocked, and that causes a reducing of airflow – or actually, complete stopping of the airflow through your airway. And then, if you have central sleep apnea, that’s where your brain does not send signals for your to breathe. Thus, you have those pauses in breathing while you’re sleeping.
Melanie: So, is sleep apnea the same as snoring? If somebody is a person who snores, does it necessarily mean that they have sleep apnea?
Lindsay: Snoring is a symptom of sleep apnea. It’s not 100% that if you snore you have sleep apnea, but snoring is a common symptom of sleep apnea.
Melanie: So, what are some other symptoms? Would it be you who notices it or is it generally whoever your partner is?
Lindsay: Other symptoms are loud breathing, you might feel sleepy during the day or wanting to take naps. There is lots of fatigue associated with it, or you personally might notice that while you’re driving, you start drifting off to sleep. Things like that are things that you would notice where you’re really tired. Your bed partner might also notice that you’re gasping for air, they might witness you having those pauses in breathing while they’re sleeping, so both of you and your bed partner will notice those symptoms.
Melanie: Do we know what causes it?
Lindsay: There are lots of different causes of sleep apnea. It can be based on your physical structure or medical condition. Mainly in adults, it’s due to excessive weight or obesity. In children, it’s due to things like large tonsils, or premature birth. There are lots of different factors that can cause sleep apnea, but primarily, it’s in adults with that excessive weight and obesity.
Melanie: Now comes the point where maybe somebody has complained about it, or you’re tired in the day, and you have some of these symptoms, and you want to find out if that’s what you have. People have heard, Lindsay, about sleep studies; they don’t know what those are. Can people even get a decent night’s sleep? Tell us about some of the screening tools that you have to find out if someone even has sleep apnea.
Lindsay: The best screening tool is what’s called the Epworth Sleepiness Scale, and it is just a little questionnaire that you fill out asking you things like, “Are you tired while you’re sitting in the chair?” “Do you get tired while you’re reading?” “Are you tired while you’re driving?” It gives a number of scores to let you know how excessively you’re sleepy during the day. That’s one of the main tools, and then when you sit down and meet with your doctor, they’ll ask you common signs, and symptoms like, “Do you snore?” “Do you feel sleepy during the day or when driving?” They’ll also ask you, “Does your partner notice you snoring or stop breathing at night?” The main screening tool is just meeting with your doctor and them talking to you about how sleepy you are and other things like that.
Now, they’ll also look into your medical history. There are some complications of undiagnosed sleep apnea like high blood pressure, so if they notice you have high blood pressure and they can’t really manage it, that is also a screening tool. Then they will refer you to a sleep specialist who then can do the sleep studies and confirm your diagnosis of sleep apnea.
Melanie: So then, how is it also diagnosed by a sleep study? What goes on in those sleep studies? It would seem to many people to be something that would be kind of difficult to do, but it’s not really is it?
Lindsay: It’s not very difficult. The sleep study comes in two parts. The first part is you actually go into a sleep lab, and you just sleep. They hook you up to some monitors to monitor your breathing, your heart rate, things like that, but basically, you just sleep. They will record all of your data, and it will come with what’s known as your AHI or your Apnea-Hypopnea Index. That number is going to tell them how many times per hours you stopped breathing or have that shallow breathing. With that number, that’s how they diagnose whether you have sleep apnea or not.
After they find out if you have sleep apnea, then you have a second test where you actually go into the sleep lab, and they apply CPAP to you, and they determine what pressure that you need to be set on. There’s also what’s called a home sleep study – so if you’re not comfortable going into the sleep lab and sleeping in a foreign place, it’s a device that you can take home and sleep in your own bed, hook it up, and that also can tell you if you have sleep apnea or not.
Melanie: If it’s determined that that’s what you do have, what are some of the treatment options? Do you see, as a respiratory therapist, an issue with adherence to some of these treatment options?
Lindsay: Um-hum. The gold standard for sleep apnea treatment is using a CPAP machine. That’s where we like to start out with. Most doctors will recommend a CPAP machine and start that way. There are also some other lifestyle changes that you can do like trying to lose weight or sleeping on your side or sleeping elevated as opposed to being on your back. That’s mainly where we start. After that, if you can’t tolerate CPAP or you’re just totally against it, there are more invasive things, having surgery, or also you can see a dentist, and you can get a dental appliance that will help with the sleep apnea as well.
Melanie: Tell us a little bit about the dental appliance. What’s that?
Lindsay: The dental appliance is done in the dental office. They make a little appliance and usually, what it will do is it will pull your jaw forward so that mainly – sometimes with obstructive sleep apnea, your tongue is falling back in your throat and so the dental appliance will move everything forward so that when you lay down to sleep the tongue doesn’t fall back in your throat, thus not creating the obstruction, so hen you don’t have the sleep apnea.
Melanie: Tell us more about the CPAP machine. Are these difficult to maintain? Are they difficult to use or uncomfortable? Tell us about that.
Lindsay: A CPAP machine is a little machine that gives constant pressure through your airway at night to keep your airway open . Nowadays, with technology, they have gotten a lot smaller and a lot more compact, so they are not as hard to manage and travel with as they were back in the older days. Traveling with it and managing it is really not as difficult as you may think. As I said, there are kinds of smaller versions. They also have travel machines out and things like that. Managing it isn’t a problem. What people will run in to is really just getting used to the machine. No one is used to sleeping with a big mask on their face or having pressure blown in, so that’s usually the main obstacle to overcome, is getting used to the machine, getting used to the pressure, making sure you have a comfortable mask on. Then after that, you just get so used to it, and you see the benefits of wearing it where you’re feeling more energized and not wanting to take naps and sleep throughout the day, and so then it becomes just second nature, and you just put it on and go to sleep.
Melanie: If it’s not treated, are there some long-term effects of sleep apnea? And really, we’re learning more and more about lack of sleep and things like obesity and heart disease, and if someone has sleep apnea, what are some of the effects if they don’t get it treated?
Lindsay: If sleep apnea is not treated, then you’ll notice – the short-term effects are you are being sleepy, falling asleep while you’re driving, and just not feeling good yourself. Over time, as you keep going untreated with that sleep apnea, it increases your risk for heart disease, increases your risk for stroke. A lot of people will develop high blood pressure. You can have a heart attack. It’s very common that you’ll develop diabetes. There are a lot of long-term effects on your whole health – untreated sleep apnea affects your whole health, not just you not sleeping well.
Melanie: So then, wrap it up for us, Lindsay. Give us your best advice as a respiratory therapist and what you want people to know about getting a good, quality night’s sleep, and getting their sleep apnea diagnosed, and really adhering to whatever treatment is prescribed.
Lindsay: The best advice I can give is that if you are feeling tired or notice that you are feeling like you are not getting a good night’s sleep, or falling asleep while you’re driving, really go see your doctor. That is the first step is just talking with your doctor, letting him know what’s going on so that you can be diagnosed with sleep apnea and start that treatment. There is no harm in it. As technology is getting better and better, there are lots of things out there to help treat your sleep apnea. There are more comfortable masks that are smaller and not as big, and bulky. As I said earlier, the machines are smaller and easier to manage, as well as we have the travel stuff. It’s not this big, old machine and horrible thing that will not let you sleep, it’s really actually really good for your health.
As more technology and more studies have come out on sleep apnea, it affects your whole health, as I said, not just you not having a good sleep. Definitely, if you’re not feeling good, please go see the doctor and let them know you’re feeling tired, or if your bed partner notices snoring or witnessed apneas, go see your doctor. Let them know so that you can start treatment right away.
Melanie: Thank you so much, Lindsay, for being with us today. You’re listening to Your Health Matters with Meritus Health. For more information, please visit MeritusHealth.com, that’s MeritusHealth.com. This is Melanie Cole. Thanks so much, for tuning in.
Sleep Apnea: What You Need to Know
Melanie Cole (Host): Sleep apnea is such a common condition, but how do you know if you even have it? My guest today, is Lindsay Murphy. She's a Registered Respiratory Therapist at Meritus Health. Welcome to the show, Lindsay. What is sleep apnea?
Lindsay Murphy (Guest): Sleep apnea is a sleep breathing disorder. It’s when a patient repeatedly starts and stops breathing throughout the time they’re sleeping. It comes in two forms. There is obstructive in nature, or there is where it is due to a lack of brain signals. In obstructive sleep apnea, your airway becomes blocked, and that causes a reducing of airflow – or actually, complete stopping of the airflow through your airway. And then, if you have central sleep apnea, that’s where your brain does not send signals for your to breathe. Thus, you have those pauses in breathing while you’re sleeping.
Melanie: So, is sleep apnea the same as snoring? If somebody is a person who snores, does it necessarily mean that they have sleep apnea?
Lindsay: Snoring is a symptom of sleep apnea. It’s not 100% that if you snore you have sleep apnea, but snoring is a common symptom of sleep apnea.
Melanie: So, what are some other symptoms? Would it be you who notices it or is it generally whoever your partner is?
Lindsay: Other symptoms are loud breathing, you might feel sleepy during the day or wanting to take naps. There is lots of fatigue associated with it, or you personally might notice that while you’re driving, you start drifting off to sleep. Things like that are things that you would notice where you’re really tired. Your bed partner might also notice that you’re gasping for air, they might witness you having those pauses in breathing while they’re sleeping, so both of you and your bed partner will notice those symptoms.
Melanie: Do we know what causes it?
Lindsay: There are lots of different causes of sleep apnea. It can be based on your physical structure or medical condition. Mainly in adults, it’s due to excessive weight or obesity. In children, it’s due to things like large tonsils, or premature birth. There are lots of different factors that can cause sleep apnea, but primarily, it’s in adults with that excessive weight and obesity.
Melanie: Now comes the point where maybe somebody has complained about it, or you’re tired in the day, and you have some of these symptoms, and you want to find out if that’s what you have. People have heard, Lindsay, about sleep studies; they don’t know what those are. Can people even get a decent night’s sleep? Tell us about some of the screening tools that you have to find out if someone even has sleep apnea.
Lindsay: The best screening tool is what’s called the Epworth Sleepiness Scale, and it is just a little questionnaire that you fill out asking you things like, “Are you tired while you’re sitting in the chair?” “Do you get tired while you’re reading?” “Are you tired while you’re driving?” It gives a number of scores to let you know how excessively you’re sleepy during the day. That’s one of the main tools, and then when you sit down and meet with your doctor, they’ll ask you common signs, and symptoms like, “Do you snore?” “Do you feel sleepy during the day or when driving?” They’ll also ask you, “Does your partner notice you snoring or stop breathing at night?” The main screening tool is just meeting with your doctor and them talking to you about how sleepy you are and other things like that.
Now, they’ll also look into your medical history. There are some complications of undiagnosed sleep apnea like high blood pressure, so if they notice you have high blood pressure and they can’t really manage it, that is also a screening tool. Then they will refer you to a sleep specialist who then can do the sleep studies and confirm your diagnosis of sleep apnea.
Melanie: So then, how is it also diagnosed by a sleep study? What goes on in those sleep studies? It would seem to many people to be something that would be kind of difficult to do, but it’s not really is it?
Lindsay: It’s not very difficult. The sleep study comes in two parts. The first part is you actually go into a sleep lab, and you just sleep. They hook you up to some monitors to monitor your breathing, your heart rate, things like that, but basically, you just sleep. They will record all of your data, and it will come with what’s known as your AHI or your Apnea-Hypopnea Index. That number is going to tell them how many times per hours you stopped breathing or have that shallow breathing. With that number, that’s how they diagnose whether you have sleep apnea or not.
After they find out if you have sleep apnea, then you have a second test where you actually go into the sleep lab, and they apply CPAP to you, and they determine what pressure that you need to be set on. There’s also what’s called a home sleep study – so if you’re not comfortable going into the sleep lab and sleeping in a foreign place, it’s a device that you can take home and sleep in your own bed, hook it up, and that also can tell you if you have sleep apnea or not.
Melanie: If it’s determined that that’s what you do have, what are some of the treatment options? Do you see, as a respiratory therapist, an issue with adherence to some of these treatment options?
Lindsay: Um-hum. The gold standard for sleep apnea treatment is using a CPAP machine. That’s where we like to start out with. Most doctors will recommend a CPAP machine and start that way. There are also some other lifestyle changes that you can do like trying to lose weight or sleeping on your side or sleeping elevated as opposed to being on your back. That’s mainly where we start. After that, if you can’t tolerate CPAP or you’re just totally against it, there are more invasive things, having surgery, or also you can see a dentist, and you can get a dental appliance that will help with the sleep apnea as well.
Melanie: Tell us a little bit about the dental appliance. What’s that?
Lindsay: The dental appliance is done in the dental office. They make a little appliance and usually, what it will do is it will pull your jaw forward so that mainly – sometimes with obstructive sleep apnea, your tongue is falling back in your throat and so the dental appliance will move everything forward so that when you lay down to sleep the tongue doesn’t fall back in your throat, thus not creating the obstruction, so hen you don’t have the sleep apnea.
Melanie: Tell us more about the CPAP machine. Are these difficult to maintain? Are they difficult to use or uncomfortable? Tell us about that.
Lindsay: A CPAP machine is a little machine that gives constant pressure through your airway at night to keep your airway open . Nowadays, with technology, they have gotten a lot smaller and a lot more compact, so they are not as hard to manage and travel with as they were back in the older days. Traveling with it and managing it is really not as difficult as you may think. As I said, there are kinds of smaller versions. They also have travel machines out and things like that. Managing it isn’t a problem. What people will run in to is really just getting used to the machine. No one is used to sleeping with a big mask on their face or having pressure blown in, so that’s usually the main obstacle to overcome, is getting used to the machine, getting used to the pressure, making sure you have a comfortable mask on. Then after that, you just get so used to it, and you see the benefits of wearing it where you’re feeling more energized and not wanting to take naps and sleep throughout the day, and so then it becomes just second nature, and you just put it on and go to sleep.
Melanie: If it’s not treated, are there some long-term effects of sleep apnea? And really, we’re learning more and more about lack of sleep and things like obesity and heart disease, and if someone has sleep apnea, what are some of the effects if they don’t get it treated?
Lindsay: If sleep apnea is not treated, then you’ll notice – the short-term effects are you are being sleepy, falling asleep while you’re driving, and just not feeling good yourself. Over time, as you keep going untreated with that sleep apnea, it increases your risk for heart disease, increases your risk for stroke. A lot of people will develop high blood pressure. You can have a heart attack. It’s very common that you’ll develop diabetes. There are a lot of long-term effects on your whole health – untreated sleep apnea affects your whole health, not just you not sleeping well.
Melanie: So then, wrap it up for us, Lindsay. Give us your best advice as a respiratory therapist and what you want people to know about getting a good, quality night’s sleep, and getting their sleep apnea diagnosed, and really adhering to whatever treatment is prescribed.
Lindsay: The best advice I can give is that if you are feeling tired or notice that you are feeling like you are not getting a good night’s sleep, or falling asleep while you’re driving, really go see your doctor. That is the first step is just talking with your doctor, letting him know what’s going on so that you can be diagnosed with sleep apnea and start that treatment. There is no harm in it. As technology is getting better and better, there are lots of things out there to help treat your sleep apnea. There are more comfortable masks that are smaller and not as big, and bulky. As I said earlier, the machines are smaller and easier to manage, as well as we have the travel stuff. It’s not this big, old machine and horrible thing that will not let you sleep, it’s really actually really good for your health.
As more technology and more studies have come out on sleep apnea, it affects your whole health, as I said, not just you not having a good sleep. Definitely, if you’re not feeling good, please go see the doctor and let them know you’re feeling tired, or if your bed partner notices snoring or witnessed apneas, go see your doctor. Let them know so that you can start treatment right away.
Melanie: Thank you so much, Lindsay, for being with us today. You’re listening to Your Health Matters with Meritus Health. For more information, please visit MeritusHealth.com, that’s MeritusHealth.com. This is Melanie Cole. Thanks so much, for tuning in.