For the entire month of June, we are recognizing National Men's Health Month. Mainly, we are focusing on our typical routine blood pressure screenings, making sure our patients have had a check up with a family doctor, and evaluating our male patients for snoring problems. I personally sleep with a TAP3 appliance in my mouth at night, which brings my chin forward and prevents my tongue from falling back. This opens up my airway when I'm sleeping, and eliminates my awful snoring (at least my wife says it's awful, and I'm inclined to believe her).
We now know that many of the sudden Heart Attacks that occurs in relatively healthy middle-aged men occur in the middle of the night, oftentimes when they get up to go to the bathroom. These Heart Attacks can many times be traced to Obstrutive Sleep Apnea (OSA) because of the multiple times these folks wake up gasping for air due to lack of oxygen to the brain. The heart works harder in OSA patients, and this can lead to heart failure. Scary stuff, but a simple Sleep Study can often determine if OSA can be treated with simple TAP3 mandibular repositioner. Ask me about this, or tell anyone you care about that snores!!! At least you'll sleep better at night!
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