Many people usually do not consider snoring seriously and are even not aware that it has the potential to cause health complications. In fact, snoring is not even acknowledged as a health problem and brushed off as something routine and part of life. These are some of the observations of experts at a workshop on ‘Advances in diagnosis and management of snoring’ held here on Sunday.
According to ENT surgeons, snoring has the potential to impact brain, can cause complications in lungs, lead to cardiovascular episodes such as heart attack and wreak havoc psychologically. Interestingly, snoring is more common among men and less in women, who usually suffer from it only after menopause.
“Incidence of snoring is 20 per cent in urban India. There is very little research done on impact of snoring in rural India. It is increasingly being accepted that snoring is a warning for heart diseases,” says Head, ENT, Nova Speciality Hospitals, Dr. Srinivas Kishore, who organised the event.
Snoring is associated with lack of sleep due to which patients become ‘socially withdrawn’. This makes them indulge in excessive day time sleeping and cause memory loss. “Due to snoring, brain does not receive enough oxygen. It creates marital discord and hurts psyche of patients,” Dr. Kishore said.
Surgeons said that uncontrolled snoring puts pressure on lungs, which triggers a chain reaction. Once the lungs are under pressure, hypertension among patients becomes hard to control, which in turn causes cardiovascular ailments such as heart attacks. Snoring is also known to cause thickening of arterial walls, which once again leads to vascular diseases.
The common reason for snoring is obesity. “Apart from overweight, among children, tonsils could also be the reason for snoring. Active lifestyle, avoiding junk food, smoking, alcohol and treatments are some of the ways to manage the condition,” doctors added.
