Do you snore?
You likely don’t know, unless someone told you that you do.
Do they tell you that you stop breathing while sleeping?
Sleep apnea is a condition that causes you to stop breathing while you sleep.
You don’t likely worry all that much about snoring.
Your spouse is likely more concerned than you are!
First off, it effects his or her ability to sleep.
BUT more important, they likely feel like holding their breath when you do!
Maybe they even jab you in the side to get you to take a breath?
Watching someone you care about stop breathing is not fun, though you might get use to it.
Recently, on the Heart Failure Solutions Page on facebook, we had an awesome discussion about sleep apnea and why it should concern you.
It started with a question that really resonated for many people.
Is this something you should give more attention to?
Considering the fact that sleep apnea increases your risk for heart disease and the world is facing an epidemic of heart failure at present, it behooves you to take this a whole lot more serious than your doctor might.
Be proactive when it comes to sleep apnea, but know that treatment options are not necessarily permanent. Healing is possible with the help of the Life Breath Coach here on Heart Failure Solutions! Feeling better is the name of the game. Asking questions is the way to find the information you need.
Below is the lively conversation we had on the Heart Failure Solutions Facebook Page:
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 Heart Failure Solutions:
Do you stop breathing while you sleep? Are you aware how dangerous that can be OR how harmful it is to your health? Does this condition concern you? What do you do about it? |
 Carol: When I wake up in the mornings, I’m coughing trying to breathe… what are you suppose to do about it?
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 Stephanie: It is more serious than most people think. My husband had a near-fatal heart attack at 36 years old caused by poorly treated sleep apnea. If you think you stop breathing get a sleep test now. We’re blessed that he is okay now. |
 Dooreen: I have an adjustable bed and can sleep and breathe better if my head is elevated… I never lie flat or I cough. |
 Deana: Have a Sleep Study done. |
 Robert: Yeah, I wake up on some nights gasping for air happened to me last week, I sleep with the fan on for air it usually happens when I sleep backwards and I start choking so I have to get used to sleeping the other way I am afraid when this happens doctors told me in the past I have sleep apnea. |
| Heart Failure Solutions: Carol, your issue may not be sleep apnea.Heart failure is a progressive weakening of your heart muscle. As the muscle weakens it isn’t able to pump a full “stroke volume” and the volume it can’t handle backs up into your pulmonary artery and into your lungs. You can’t breathe through fluid so your body tries to get rid of it so you CAN breathe. During the day gravity helps significantly by pulling fluid into your legs. At night, when you are horizontal, fluid in your lungs becomes a problem.What do you do? Start with supplemental home oxygen ASAP! Come by Heart Failure Solutions to convince yourself just how helpful this healing tool can be AND get the support you need to navigate your way to better health. |
| Heart Failure Solutions: Stephanie, wow 36 is very young! SO glad you still have him around to hug up! Bless your hearts!Doreen, see Carol’s explanation above. Before your heart enlarges so that your doctor can diagnose heart failure, you are dealing with fluid retention. Considerably before that, you likely dealt with significant fluid retention. When fluid is retained it is held in the space between your cells. It is not useful or beneficial to your body. This excess fluid dilutes digestive juices and causes big issue in your bowel. It also interferes with oxygen absorption.
What do you do? Discover how to shift your body to a more health bio-chemical place so that inflammation subsides and breathing isn’t so difficult BUT not before you request a sleep study. Robert, do you have sleep apnea equipment to assist your night time breathing? This is a BIG deal! Sleep apnea LEADS to heart failure. Sleep apnea causes such an unhealthy bio-chemistry that you are literally frying your body. It also causes low oxygen levels that could spontaneously stop your heart causing sudden death! Even if that doesn’t happen to you anytime soon, low oxygen levels cause progressive weakening of your heart muscle! The world is facing an epidemic of heart failure and it is being fueled by sleep apnea and cholesterol lowering medications. Statins are harmful medicine! Sleep apnea can kill you if it isn’t treated, and if it isn’t treated properly it could result in the deterioration of your health. Watch for fluid retention and be concerned when you see it! The Life Breath Coach at Heart Failure Solutions has been guiding people out of health crisis with incredible success. Don’t face the battle alone. Your health is worth fighting for! |
 Debra: Sleep study. CPAP. BIPAP. |
| Heart Failure Solutions: Yes, Debra, however, if CPAP and BIPAP don’t keep your blood oxygen saturation up, they won’t save you from slow steady deterioration. There is a lot that can be done to lose excess fluid and dramatically improve your situation as well.So, settings that once served you may no longer be appropriate. Too much support is just as bad as not enough. It’s so important to be your own health advocate or entrust a family member to do it! |
 Honey: I was diagnosed with heart failure exactly 1 month after the completion of chemotherapy my injection fraction was 60% one year prior, now its 15%. I am looking for something that can help me with this horrific disease. I would rather have cancer to be quite honest with you. |
| Robert: Thank you for the information I do not have any equipment for the sleep apnea Doctors told me maybe over 5+ years ago that I had it but nothing was really done to treat it I just learned to cope with it. Over time It was off in on but over the past year its been more frequent. Its scary sleeping at night when you know you could stop breathing. Thank you again for the information. |
| Debra: Go to your doctor and demand another sleep study. After the test is done a pulmonologist should read it and do an official report. Be sure to follow up with that pulmonologist and get an order for the cpap. Jump through every hoop they put in front of you and save your life. Don’t suffer any more!!! Ill say a prayer for you, that you find the path to get you back to health. |
| Heart Failure Solutions: Robert, please understand that you are not “coping” with sleep apnea, you are tolerating it. The fan can’t help you breathe. A nasal cannula with significant flow might help, but not the fan.You risk your life by allowing your doctor to withhold treatment you desperately need. The squeaky wheel gets the grease. Finding a new doctor often makes all the difference for Life Breath Club Members. One of our favorite doctors says “All doctors are NOT created equal!” |
 Carrie Tucker, the Life Breath Coach: Amen, Debra! Unfortunately, many life breath club members have found that even sleep lab employees don’t make much sense. You begin to wonder if they really understand sleep study science or just how to monitor your sleep. It’s what we do with the data that makes all the difference. What might be acceptable to your doctor will not always allow progress with healing. LOW carbon dioxide levels are as harmful as high levels.Keep advocating for yourself and enlist help if you need it. A family member who isn’t dealing with health challenges will be able to navigate the system easier than you can! |
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Heart Failure Solutions: Honey, your comment breaks my heart. If we can’t figure out just how much you are suffering from that statement, we are not listening. Come by Heart Failure Solutions and join the Life Breath Club. Members are achieving incredible healing and getting back to the business of living life! We’d love to support you on your journey to better health! (Membership is free and we meet weekly)
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Article originally posted on facebook
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It’s up to us to deliver the message that an epidemic of heart failure is NOT inevitable IF we take action!
