We’ve dealt with Sleep Apnea, its symptoms, causes and treatment, extensively in previous articles here, but today we’re going to turn to a similar condition, which is starting to attract some clinical attention- Upper Airway Resistance Syndrome.
This is a medical condition which has only recently been identified, and shares many common features with Sleep Apnea. It is primarily a narrowing of the upper breathing passages, leading to increased air pressure and difficulty in breathing during sleep. Like Sleep Apnea, it can be caused by factors such as obesity, or relaxation of the soft tissues in the throat, nose and mouth. Similarly, this can lead to interruptions to the sleeping cycle, and a reduction in the quality of sleep. As a result, a sufferer may find themselves afflicted by excessive daytime sleepiness, and a variety of other problems, such as high blood pressure and hypertension.
Where it differs from Sleep Apnea is that in UARS, the airways never completely close up. This means you don’t get the distinctive interruptions to breathing and choking sounds, followed by loud snores that a Sleep Apnea sufferer will display. This is all well and good for one’s partner, of course, but it does mean that UARS is something of a silent problem- a sufferer will tend to snore, but it can be overlooked as just ‘normal’ snoring.
If you are getting some of the problems described, then you find you may need to be treated in the same way- with a CPAP machine, by taking steps to lose weight, and to strengthen the tissues of the breathing passages.
Comments on this entry are closed.