Researchers at Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit have found that snoring may increase the risk of thickening of the carotid artery even more than smoking, high cholesterol or excess weight. This condition is a precursor to atherosclerosis, a hardening of the arteries responsible for many vascular diseases. As a result, you should seek treatment for snoring, even if you don’t have other symptoms of sleep apnea or heart disease.
Snoring has long been linked to obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), a sleep disorder that occurs due to the collapse of the airway in the throat during sleep. OSA has been linked to cardiovascular disease in addition to various other serious health issues.
Snoring has long been thought to be a benign, albeit annoying problem. However, researchers have now found that snoring alone may lead to trauma and subsequent inflammation of the carotid artery which can put patients at risk. For the Henry Ford study, Dr. Robert Deeb, M.D. and Kathleen Yaremchuk, M.D. reviewed data for 913 patients who had been evaluated by the institution’s sleep center.
Effective treatment for obstructive sleep apnea is available, and the same approach may benefit those who snore but have not yet developed OSA. If you would like to learn more about sleep apnea and snoring, our Pittsburgh dentists can help.
Please contact Dentonics, Inc., using the form at the right side of the page or call 412-487-6910 today to schedule a consultation. We serve patients in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
