The World Sleep Day is an annual event that doubles up as a celebration of sleep as well as a call to action on important issues related to sleep.
It is organized by the World Sleep Day Committee of the World Association of Sleep Medicine (WASM), and is aimed at tackling sleep-related problems in society through better prevention and management of sleep disorders.
STAR Hospitals has taken the initiative to celebrate this day by conducting an awareness campaign on Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA).
OSA is one of the most prevalent sleep disorders in today’s society. People often co-relate this problem with snoring, but the deleterious effects of this disorder on the human body go way beyond that. Due to drastic lifestyle changes, sleep apnea is growing in society. Today, this disorder has also made an appearance in younger segments of the population.
Obstructive Sleep Apnea is a silent killer. People suffering from this disorder frequently struggle to breathe in sufficient oxygen while sleeping. OSA affects the two most vital organs of the body—the heart and the brain. Harmful consequences of long-term OSA include silent heart attacks and strokes in the middle of the night.
Recent studies have shown that this disorder dramatically increases the chances of hypertension, atrial fibrillation, diabetes and obesity. In fact, sleep apnea patients have an 83% chance of developing drug-resistant hypertension. They also have a 91% chance of suffering from nighttime heart attacks.
People with this disorder need to consult ENT specialists, who will properly evaluate their condition with the help of sleep studies and sleep endoscopies.
Two treatment modalities are available for OSA patients, namely CPAP therapy (Continuous Positive Airway Pressure) and surgery. Although a CPAP machine often gives excellent results, most patients are not comfortable with using the machine every night. That’s the reason why many prefer the surgical mode of treatment, which provides permanent relief from OSA.
The ENT team at STAR Hospitals is highly qualified to deal with OSA patients. Till date, these expert surgeons have successfully performed about 200 hundred surgeries. The ENT department at STAR has state-of-the-art equipment to carry out sleep apnea surgeries. Moreover, the ENT team takes up a multidisciplinary approach that involves ENT surgeons, pulmonologists, cardiologists and anaesthetists.
The ENT experts at STAR strive to raise awareness about OSA not only in the general population but also in the medical fraternity.
On 20th March 2016, hundred of doctors from different fields of expertise will meet up to take part in a program hosted at STAR hospitals. This kind of an event is going to take place for the first time in the city. Here, doctors will talk about implementing a holistic, multidisciplinary approach to treating OSA.
For more details please contact:
Dr. Dr. Srinivas Kishore Sistla: 9848018667
Consultant E.N.T., Head and Neck Surgeon
STAR Hospitals.
