Sleep Apnea Treatment May Help Combat Persistent Hypertension in Southern “Stroke Belt”

According to a new study of the health of people in southern states, including Georgia, the American Heart Association (AHA) found that people in this region are more likely to have high blood pressure (hypertension), putting them at risk for stroke, heart attack, and other dangerous cardiovascular conditions.

Sleep apnea treatment may help people in our community to live healthier, longer lives.

Southerners Have High Rates of Hypertension, Low Use of Medications

According to this AHA study, which looked at a sample of more than 69,000 southerners in the Southern Community Cohort Study (SCCS). The SCCS is a group of people originally enrolled to study cancer in 12 Southern states, including Georgia. These subjects were enrolled from 2002 to 2009, and have helped researchers answer many important questions, including the prevalence of high blood pressure.

The study showed that about 57% of people in the SCCS have hypertension. This is significantly higher than the estimated 32% for the US population as a whole. However, use of antihypertension medications was significantly higher among the people with hypertension, about 82%, compared to 75% of those in the US who are using medication for their hypertension.

They study confirmed the association between obesity and hypertension. Obese individuals were found to be 4 times more likely to have hypertension than non-obese individuals.

Sleep Apnea and Hypertension

People with sleep apnea are about 5 times more likely to suffer cardiovascular diseases, including hypertension. There are many potential links, including the effects of sleep apnea on your sympathetic nerve system, its tendency to cause obesity, and its disruption of hormone pathways.

Fortunately, sleep apnea treatment can eliminate or significantly reduce the severity of hypertension. With sleep apnea treatment, your increased risk of cardiovascular disease may be reduced by about 90%, putting you at essentially the same risk as people with normal breathing.

But in order to see these benefits, you have to have a convenient treatment you will stick with, which, for many people, is not the commonly-prescribed CPAP treatment.

If you are looking for a comfortable sleep apnea treatment option, please contact Beyond Exceptional Dentistry in Savannah, Georgia.