Don’t ignore your snoring: It may be an indication of serious disorders

Obstructive sleep apnoea is a sleep disorder. This condition is due to a collapse of the airway in the throat while you are sleeping. This causes loud snoring and pauses in regular breathing. This has a close association with cardiovascular diseases and other serious health complications. But now, there is evidence that cardiovascular diseases may actually start with snoring.

Snoring is a common problem for many people. It creates problems in relationships and leads to embarrassment. Snoring can affect anyone and at any time. But it is more common among the elderly, men and overweight people. Everybody snores sometimes. But if you are a habitual snorer, it is a nuisance for your partner or anybody sleeping near you. It also affects your own sleep and you may wake up tired and drained of energy.

SNORING CAN CAUSE CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASES: STUDY

Now, a new study from Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit says that snoring, even without sleep apnoea, may cause thickening and abnormalities in the carotid artery. This can be a potential precursor to atherosclerosis. Researchers say that snoring may be a greater risk than obesity, smoking or high cholesterol. They say that this increased thickening in the lining of the two large blood vessels that supply the brain with oxygenated blood is a precursor to atherosclerosis, a hardening of the arteries responsible for many vascular diseases.

Researchers warn that snoring is more than a bedtime annoyance and it shouldn’t be ignored. They suggest that patients seek treatment for the condition in the same way they would if they had sleep apnoea, high blood pressure or other risk factors for cardiovascular disease.

This study supports the growing belief that isolated snoring may not be as benign as first suspected. Researchers point out that changes in the carotid artery with snorers, even for those without sleep apnoea, are likely due to the trauma and subsequent inflammation caused by the vibrations of snoring. The Laryngoscope journal published this study.

SNORERS EXHIBITED GREATER INTIMA-MEDIA THICKNESS OF CAROTID ARTERIES: RESEARCHERS

Researchers reviewed data for 913 patients who had been evaluated by the Henry Ford Hospital’s sleep centre. All subjects were between the ages of 18 to 50 and had earlier participated in a diagnostic sleep study between December 2006 and January 2012 None of them had sleep apnoea. They saw that 54 patients completed the snore outcomes survey regarding their snoring habits. They also underwent a carotid artery duplex ultrasound to measure the intima-media thickness of the carotid arteries. This is a measurement of the thickness of the innermost two layers of the arterial wall. This may reveal the presence and also track the progression of atherosclerotic disease. In fact, intima-media thickness is often the first sign of carotid artery disease.

Researchers found that, compared to non-snorers, snorers had a much greater intima-media thickness of the carotid arteries. They found no significant differences in intima-media thickness for patients with or without some of the traditional risk factors for cardiovascular disease like smoking, diabetes, hypertension or hypercholesterolemia.

CAUSES OF SNORING

This condition may happen due to a number of reasons. The main factor, though, is an obstruction in the air flow through the mouth and nose. Obstructive sleep apnoea is usually behind this problem. In this condition, there are pauses in breathing when a person is asleep. These pauses happen usually between snores. This needs treatment because it can affect normal life. Symptoms are usually daytime sleepiness, irritability, inability to pay attention, headaches, insomnia and a low sex drive. High blood pressure and hypothyroidism may also lead to this condition. Snoring may also be due to nasal congestion and obesity.

You may also snore if your nasal airways are congested due to a cold or allergy. Sinus infection can also cause this problem as can a deviated septum or nasal polyps. Other reasons may be weak muscles in the throat and tongue. If these muscles are too relaxed, it can obstruct the airway. Very deep sleep, alcohol and sleeping pills can induce this kind of relaxation. Bulky throat tissue and a long soft palate and/or uvula may also induce snoring by narrowing the opening from the nose to the throat.

Snoring may be an indication of several health disorders. So, it is better to consult a doctor if you snore regularly.

HEALTH RISKS OF SNORING

You may think that snoring is just an embarrassment and will go away with time or if you lose weight. But, if left untreated, it can lead to some serious health complications. The sound that you make when you snore comes from the upper airway of your throat as you sleep. It happens when you breathe in air. It indicates that your airway is partially blocked. About one half of people who snore loudly have obstructive sleep apnoea. Let us take a look at a few of the health disorders that heavy snoring can cause.

Loud snoring may lead to heart failure

Habitual snorers may develop an irregular heart rhythm or arrhythmia. It can also enlarge the left atrium over a long period of time and increase the risk of heart attacks. According to researchers from the Radiological Society of North America, obstructive sleep apnoea and the related snoring may lead to earlier impairment of cardiac function in women than in men. Obstructive sleep apnoea causes an increased risk for left ventricular and, more rarely, right ventricular dysfunction in the heart, they say.

Stroke is a real risk

According to researchers from the American Academy of Sleep Medicine, loud snoring may increase your risk of cardiovascular disease. They say that such people had a 40 per cent greater odds of having hypertension, 34 per cent greater odds of having a heart attack and 67 per cent greater odds of having a stroke, compared with people who do not snore.

They came to this conclusion after taking into consideration other risk factors like age, sex, body mass index, diabetes, level of education, smoking and alcohol consumption. Quiet snoring was associated only with an increased risk for hypertension in women and loud snoring was also associated with increased emergency hospital visits and hospitalisation.

It can cause obstructive sleep apnoea

It is known that sleep apnoea causes snoring. But heavy snoring can also cause sleep apnoea. According to researchers from Umea University, Sweden, the recurrent vibrations caused by snoring can lead to injuries in the upper airways of people who snore heavily. This in turn, can cause swallowing dysfunction and increase the risk of obstructive sleep apnoea. This finding came to light in a study on the processes behind vibratory damage and healing of the upper airway tract.

They say that snorers and sleep apnoea patients have neuromuscular injuries in the upper respiratory tract. The injuries are both at the structural and molecular level. Researchers were also able to see a correlation between snoring and swallowing dysfunction and a relation between nerve damage and obstructive sleep apnoea. Sleep apnoea is condition that causes repeated collapse of the upper respiratory tract. It increases the risk of cardiovascular disease.

Snoring may lead to cognitive decline

Breathing problems during sleep like heavy snoring has an association with earlier decline in memory and thinking skills. A study published in the journal Neurology says that if you get early treatment for the condition, the decline may be delayed. Researchers from American Academy of Neurology came to this conclusion after reviewing the data of almost 2,470 people between the ages of 55 to 90.

In fact, another study from the NIH/National Institute of Child Health And Human Development says that children who snore score lower on tests of mental development and intelligence than do other children their age. This study was published in the Journal of Pediatrics.

Published: September 22, 2019 1:35 pm | Updated:September 22, 2019 1:58 pm

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