The somnologist warned about the risk of thrombosis in sleep apnea

Loud nighttime snoring may conceal a dangerous condition — obstructive sleep apnea. This is not just snoring, but stopping breathing during sleep, which can be repeated dozens or even hundreds of times a night. Each such episode means short-term suffocation: the oxygen level in the blood drops, the heart and blood vessels experience tremendous stress. Maxim Novikov, a somnologist at JSC "Medicine" (Academician Roitberg clinic), told Izvestia about this on October 30.

"Modern research shows that sleep apnea is not a harmless disorder, but a real risk factor for thrombosis. People with this syndrome are several times more likely to experience deep vein thrombosis and pulmonary embolism, life—threatening conditions," he warned.

The reason lies in the fact that the constant lack of oxygen triggers a chain reaction in the body. In response to hypoxia, inflammatory processes are activated, the blood becomes thicker, and the vessels lose their ability to relax and self-purify. The walls of blood vessels are damaged, blood clotting increases, and at one point a blood clot may form in the vein.

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The risk is especially high in overweight people. The doctor clarified that obesity and sleep apnea are closely related.: the higher the body weight, the more the respiratory tract is blocked during sleep and the more often episodes of suffocation occur. The risk group includes men over 40 years of age, smokers, people with endocrine disorders and anatomically narrow airways.

"The main problem is that most people are not even aware of their diagnosis, because apnea is manifested not only by loud snoring, but also by less obvious signs — waking up twice a night or more often, constant drowsiness during the day, feeling tired after sleep, morning headaches, pressure spikes. It is often the loved ones who are the first to notice that a person periodically freezes in a dream," Novikov said.

The risk of apnea can be identified using a short STOP-BANG questionnaire, and the diagnosis can be confirmed using an overnight sleep study. If apnea is confirmed, it is important to tell your doctor about it: when planning treatment, surgery, or prescribing thrombosis prevention, this factor must be taken into account.

The good news is that sleep apnea is correctable. Modern devices that normalize breathing during sleep make it possible to restore full rest to the body, reduce the load on the heart and blood vessels, and at the same time the risk of thrombosis. Lifestyle also plays an important role: weight loss, quitting smoking, moderate physical activity and following a sleep regime can literally restore vascular health.

"Snoring is not just an unpleasant sound. Sometimes it becomes a signal that warns of serious danger. If you or your loved ones suffer from loud snoring and daytime fatigue, you should not postpone the examination. Taking care of the quality of sleep is not a matter of comfort, but a way to preserve life and health," concluded the somnologist.

On October 4, Abigail Dove, a researcher at the Department of Neurobiology, Social Sciences and Public Health at the Karolinska Institute, who led the study, spoke about the dependence of the aging process of the brain on sleep quality. She also suggested that due to the ability to modify sleep, it may be possible to prevent accelerated aging of the brain and even a decrease in its cognitive functions.

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