“Is sleep apnea curable?”
I have sleep apnea. Is sleep apnea curable?
3 Answers
Curing sleep apnea may really depend on what one means by "cure".
Can we manage it so it's not a problem anymore? Of course!
Can we get rid of it without and thus not require any further intervention? It depends.
Sleep apnea is a result of anatomy - to put it simply. The cause of the anatomic change is multifactorial. One of the more common issues connected to sleep apnea is obesity - but even carrying a little extra weight can contribute. Thus, managing weight and optimizing diet and exercise has the potential to be curative.
On the other hand, a large enough subset of the population does not fall into the overweight or obese category of body habitus yet still have sleep apnea. In such situations, the anatomy is still the culprit, but weight loss is unlikely to have a profound impact. The logical leap is surgical, of course, but the risk:benefit ratio is particularly unfavorable when other non-surgical interventions are currently available.
Thus, patients may be subject to a "chronic" diagnosis of sleep apnea and require a device (oral appliance, PAP, nerve stimulator) to ensure it is no longer a contributor to suboptimal health, but the requirement of some support may always remain.
Can we manage it so it's not a problem anymore? Of course!
Can we get rid of it without and thus not require any further intervention? It depends.
Sleep apnea is a result of anatomy - to put it simply. The cause of the anatomic change is multifactorial. One of the more common issues connected to sleep apnea is obesity - but even carrying a little extra weight can contribute. Thus, managing weight and optimizing diet and exercise has the potential to be curative.
On the other hand, a large enough subset of the population does not fall into the overweight or obese category of body habitus yet still have sleep apnea. In such situations, the anatomy is still the culprit, but weight loss is unlikely to have a profound impact. The logical leap is surgical, of course, but the risk:benefit ratio is particularly unfavorable when other non-surgical interventions are currently available.
Thus, patients may be subject to a "chronic" diagnosis of sleep apnea and require a device (oral appliance, PAP, nerve stimulator) to ensure it is no longer a contributor to suboptimal health, but the requirement of some support may always remain.
We have ways to control sleep apnea but in vast majority of cases it is not cured. Additionally, it is a condition that tends to get worse over decades of life.
yes
