Sleep disorder can be managed

Most people who suffer from mild sleep apnoea – a condition in which narrowed airways cause the person to stop breathing frequently during sleep at night – are not treated.

But with time, they run the risk of developing high blood pressure, heart disease and stroke.

Checking their blood pressure while they sleep could help pick out those at higher risk, a sleep expert here says.

Sleep apnoea affects 15 per cent of people here.

During sleep, the blood pressure of healthy people dips by about 20 per cent, because they are more relaxed than in the day, and the heart does not need to pump as hard.

But in some people with mild sleep apnoea, it stays at the same level or may even become raised, said Dr Kenny Pang, a sleep expert who practises at Pacific Sleep Centre, a new facility at the Paragon which treats sleep disorders.

Dr Pang estimates that one in three sufferers of mild sleep apnoea would be “non-dippers”.

“These are the ones you want to treat early, and not leave alone,” he said. The worry is that after two or three years of the blood pressure not dipping at night, they will develop hypertension.

So, on top of conducting a sleep study to track the breathing pauses in patients who suspect they may have sleep apnoea, Dr Pang now also tracks their overnight blood pressure.

One of his patients is Mrs T.L. Lee, who noticed that her blood pressure would be quite high in the mornings around 6am.

The 60-year-old retired teacher dismissed it initially as it would fall back to normal later in the day. But last year, she went to see Dr Pang on a friend’s suggestion.

It turned out that she had mild sleep apnoea.

She said: “I didn’t know I had sleep apnoea, or that it caused my high blood pressure.’’

Keen to get it treated, she is now mulling over her options: wear an oxygen mask at night or have surgery.

For patients who need surgery, Dr Pang does a sleep endoscopy – a scope of the airway – to find the obstruction, which could be an enlarged tongue or palate, so that it can be cut in size by surgery more accurately.

Pacific Sleep Centre brings Dr Pang, a respiratory physician, neurologist, psychiatrist, orthodontist and paediatrician under one roof.

This is more convenient for patients who need treatment from different doctors for their sleep disorder, or other related conditions, Dr Pang said.

For example, severe insomniacs may need to see a psychiatrist for conditions such as depression. And some apnoea patients need to wear a dental splint at night to push the jaw forward and keep the airway open.

Source: Straits Times, 14 March 2007