Are you at risk for sleep apnea?
Are you tired during the day? Is your energy low? Do you have trouble concentrating? Your daytime challenges could be due to nighttime troubles.
Most sleep disorders are easily diagnosed and treated. Yet today, up to 80 percent of individuals with moderate-to-severe obstructive sleep apnea don’t know it and aren’t getting help.
For them, daytime sleepiness, decreased energy, and trouble concentrating could cause accidents, moodiness, and poor productivity, but it’s a problem they just live with or blame on something else.
“I look at sleep as importantly as I do healthy nutrition and exercise,” says Dr. Ranji Varghese, Medical Director of the Minnesota Regional Sleep disorders Center at HCMC. “Sleep is essential for healthy bodies and minds. If we don’t sleep well, our bodies have a harder time repairing the wear and tear of daily use. Also, sleep is essential to optimize our ability to think clearly.”
An easy way to know if you’re at risk for sleep apnea is to answer 8 simple questions on the STOP-Bang Sleep Apnea Test.
If you’re at risk, the sleep experts at the Minnesota Regional Sleep Disorders Center will be able to help. It’s a fully accredited, full-service sleep disorders center on the campus of Hennepin County Medical Center. They are the experts at treating a range of sleep-wake disorders, including insomnia, sleep apnea, narcolepsy, restless legs syndrome, and other conditions in both adults and children.
Dr. Varghese adds, “Sleep apnea if left untreated, is wear and tear on the entire cardiovascular system -which includes our heart. Patients with untreated severe sleep apnea have a six times higher risk of having heart attacks and also strokes.”
You can schedule a consultation with a sleep professional by calling 612-873-6963.
Ranji Varghese, MD is the Medical Director for the Minnesota Regional Sleep Disorders Center here at Hennepin County Medical Center. He is board-certified in both Neurology and Sleep Medicine. His interest in neuroscience and consciousness drives a passion to understand human behavior in its relation to sleep and mental well-being.
