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Mercy Health Center is now
equipped to ensure that local residents receive a better quality of sleep leaving
them rested and ready to face the day.
Mercy’s new addition, the Mercy Health Center sleep lab, is now ready to
see patients, according to Emily Turner, director of cardio pulmonary and
sleep medicine. Turner and her staff have been researching the benefits
of a sleep lab for quite some time. Although the sleep lab has been created
using the latest in technology, Turner said, the two sleep lab rooms at Mercy
are created to resemble regular bedrooms in order to create a more relaxing atmosphere.
One of the main illnesses that Turner and her staff will identify with the use of
the sleep lab is sleep apnea. According to Turner, sleep apnea affects approximately
40 million people in the United States. This sleep disorder, which causes a
person’s breathing to be interrupted during sleep, has two categories.
The most common form of sleep apnea, which affects nearly 18 million people,
is obstructive sleep apnea. This type of disorder is caused by a blockage of
the airway. Usually this happen when the soft tissue in the back of the throat
falls down while the person is sleeping causing the airway to be blocked.
The other type of sleep apnea, central sleep apnea, occurs when the brain does not
instruct the muscles to breathe.
If left untreated, sleep apnea can cause severe health problems such as high blood
pressure, stroke, heart failure, irregular heart beat or heart attacks. Untreated
apnea is also responsible for poor performance in everyday activities, poor school
grades and motor vehicle accidents, Turner said.
Annually, OSA (Obstructive Sleep Apnea) results in a cost to business and government
of $46 billion,” Turner said.
Children over the age of six are welcome to attend this event but must be accompanied
by an adult.
For this reason, Mercy Health Center made the creation of the sleep lab a
priority. According to Mercy Health Center Marketing and Development Director
Carla Bryant Farmer, before the creation of the local sleep lab, patients who
suffered with sleep disorders had to travel to Joplin or other surrounding areas
for testing.
Turner said that sleep apnea can affect anyone from children to adults. Adding
that certain risk factors such as being male, being over the age of 40, having a large
neck size, having larger tonsils and having a family history of sleep apnea may make
the person’s risk of having sleep apnea higher than normal. Another risk factor,
which can affect children and adults is obesity.
Turner said that even if a person does not have any of the aforementioned risk
factors, sleep apnea is still a possibility. She said loud snoring while asleep
and sleepiness during the day are two of the main symptoms that those with sleep apnea
might have. Waking up with a sore, dry throat, a choking or gasping sensation, a
headache and experiencing mood changes are also symptoms of sleep apnea.
Area residents who think they might have symptoms of sleep apnea should contact their
physician. If a person’s physician thinks that sleep apnea may be a possibility, he
or she will refer them to the sleep lab for a polysomnogram, a sleep study that will
help determine if sleep apnea exists.
The data recorded during the sleep study is electronically transmitted to pulmonologist
Blake Little, medical director for Mercy’s sleep lab. Once reviewed, he evaluates the
data and makes recommendations.
Possible treatments for sleep apnea include losing weight, avoiding alcoholic beverages,
changing sleeping positions to promote regular breathing, not smoking, and avoiding
sleeping on one’s back. Another treatment is regular use of a CPAP. In a small percentage
of cases, Turner said, surgery is required.
For more information on Mercy’s sleep lab call (620) 223-7077.
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