Widespread disease can lead to stroke and heart attack

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This common disease is (very) often underestimated: 800,000 people in Switzerland suffer from sleep apnea. Affected people often snore very heavily and also have to struggle with breathing pauses at night. This makes restorative sleep impossible and causes paralysis of daytime sleepiness. However, the long-term consequences are particularly dangerous – these include high blood pressure, stroke, heart attack and depression.

According to experts, it is therefore important to quickly get to the root of suspected sleep apnea. Professor Doctor. Nikolaus Netzer, head of the Hermann Buhl Institute for Hypoxia and Sleep Medicine Research at Lenggries (D), said: “If you suffer from the symptoms listed or if your partner even notices breathing pauses, an analysis of your own sleep is urgently needed. Otherwise, those affected are putting their health at risk.”

The good news is that sleep apnea can now be easily analyzed at home. The Sleepiz system is quick and easy. The startup has developed a device that can be used to measure your sleep in your own bed (see box below).

If the sleep scan raises suspicion of apnea and the doctor subsequently diagnoses a disease, further clarification is made with specialists such as pneumologists. Because there’s more good news: sleep apnea is treatable. Together with the specialist, possible previous diseases such as high blood pressure or cardiac arrhythmia are discussed first, then the severity and symptoms of the disease are considered: Does the patient suffer from it a lot and is he very tired during the day? Or does he feel the effects too little? Living conditions are also taken into account: Is the person retired or still in the middle of working life, perhaps even in a high-risk job (eg truck driver)? From all this and other information, the best form of therapy is determined individually.

In cases of mild sleep apnea, general precautions are sometimes sufficient. For example, losing weight if you are overweight or not drinking alcohol in the evening – both are risk factors for sleep apnea. Maintaining sleep hygiene is also important: this means a relaxing place to rest and sleep enough by putting down the cell phone, turning off the TV, and airing out the bedroom before going to sleep. Sometimes those who do not relax do not start the night well rested.

In mild to moderate cases, throat muscle training can also help – with medical didgeridoo, for example. According to experts, anyone who does this for about 20 minutes a day even has a chance of improving their apnea.

If it is a moderate to severe form of the disease, there are three common forms of treatment. Below we explain what they are.

The most effective, especially in severe cases of apnea, is the sleep mask called CPAP therapy. This detects breathing pauses and delivers air to the throat through the connected respirator – so the throat can no longer close. Of all the forms of therapy, CPAP therapy is by far the most popular and preferred by lung specialists. The success rate is very high. You can find more information on this at: this blog entry. Good to know: It takes a while to get used to sleeping with a mask. Some people find it uncomfortable to wear this tool. But you don’t have to worry because there are alternatives.

A mandibular splint can be helpful in mild to moderate cases of apnea. This is done by a dentist or orthodontist. The splint moves both the jaw and tongue forward, which widens the throat and prevents the base of the tongue from closing the airway.

Another alternative is the language-based pacemaker, which works on the same system as the pacemaker. A box is placed under the skin at chest level and an electrode is pulled from there to the lingual nerve. If you stop breathing, the pacemaker gives your tongue an electric shock impulse, which prevents the tongue from falling back into the throat. However, this fluctuation is very slight. After all, this is why you should not wake up.

Solution: There is an individually appropriate treatment for each patient. Which one is best for you will be discussed with your doctor. Note on costs: Sleep apnea treatments are covered by health insurance.

Source : Blick