skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Monday, March 18, 2024

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

SD public defense duties shift from counties to state; SCOTUS appears skeptical of restricting government communications with social media companies; Trump lawyers say he can't make bond; new scholarships aim to connect class of 2024 to high-demand jobs.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

The SCOTUS weighs government influence on social media, and who groups like the NRA can do business with. Biden signs an executive order to advance women's health research and the White House tells Israel it's responsible for the Gaza humanitarian crisis.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Midwest regenerative farmers are rethinking chicken production, Medicare Advantage is squeezing the finances of rural hospitals and California's extreme swing from floods to drought has some thinking it's time to turn rural farm parcels into floodplains.

Sleep Apnea: Get Some Help Before You Kill Somebody

play audio
Play

Tuesday, May 31, 2016   

MADISON, Wis. – Sleep apnea is one of the most common sleep-related breathing disorders and affects about 7 percent of the U.S. adult population.

But it is a very treatable problem, commonly with CPAP therapy.

Claudia Korcarz, who manages the University of Wisconsin Atherosclerosis Imaging Research Program, says usually you find out if you have sleep apnea from your partner, who is bothered by your heavy snoring and interrupted breathing during sleep.

"Patients are typically hyper somnolent,” she says. “They are very sleepy during the daytime, so bad that you're talking to somebody and they fall asleep in front of you, and this increases the risk of motor vehicle accidents, and that's one of the public health problems of obstructive sleep apnea."

Korcarz, who recently completed a study of obstructive sleep apnea, says upwards of 25 percent of all sleep apnea patients are unable to comply with or tolerate CPAP therapy.

Many say they just can't deal with wearing a mask all night, while the CPAP machine forces air through their nose.

Korcarz says even using a CPAP machine four hours per night will dramatically improve the patient's cardiovascular health.

She also points out that there have been big improvements in treating sleep disorders. Tests to determine if a person has sleep apnea can even be conducted in a patient's home now, and the design and function of CPAP machines has taken huge strides forward.

"We need to let people know that the equipment has improved dramatically in the last 10 years or so,” she states. “They're quieter, they're more comfortable, the hoses are more flexible so you can move around."

Korcarz says ignoring sleep apnea comes with huge consequences.

"Your risk of cardiovascular events is two to threefold higher,” she points out. “Stroke or heart attacks or sudden cardiac death, for example, in the middle of the night. The risk of having a cardiac event, an arrhythmia that could be fatal, is two times higher than the regular population."

Korkarz advises partners of people who have untreated sleep apnea to insist that they discuss it with their doctor.





get more stories like this via email

more stories
Corporate partners sign contracts to offer a graduate assistantship and pay the students. In turn, MSU pays the graduate assistant's tuition, fees and salary, so the assistantship is directly tied to the academic experience. (pressmaster/Adobe Stock)

play sound

By Victoria Lim for WorkingNation.Broadcast version by Farah Siddiqi for Missouri News Service reporting for the WorkingNation-Public News Service Col…


Social Issues

play sound

A new report brands Connecticut's tax system as "regressive" for low- to middle-income residents and uses a report from the state to make its point…

Environment

play sound

Backers of a new federal rule said it will increase fairness for livestock and poultry producers, in North Carolina and across the country. The U.S…


A study by the advocacy group Inseparable showed one in five adults said at any given time, they consider their mental health to be either 'fair' or 'poor.' (Adobe Stock)

Health and Wellness

play sound

Mental health care advocates are encouraging federal agencies to adopt a proposed update to regulations which would expand access to psychological car…

Social Issues

play sound

With hotter summers bringing hotter working conditions, the Maryland Department of Labor is implementing a heat stress standard to protect workers …

Social Issues

play sound

By Jimmy Cloutier for OpenSecrets.Broadcast version by Roz Brown for Texas News Service reporting for the OpenSecrets-Public News Service Collaboratio…

Environment

play sound

Recreational fishermen in New England say commercial trawlers are threatening the survival of smaller businesses relying on a healthy stock of Atlanti…

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021