Sleep apnoea is often associated with excess weight. Sleep apnoea is a condition that causes interruptions in breathing during sleep. An increase in weight around the throat and neck region causes blockage of breathing during sleep. Symptoms of sleep apnoea can include loud snoring, day time tiredness and sleepiness, morning headaches, high blood pressure, trouble focusing during the day and mood changes. The higher a persons BMI (Body Mass Index), the higher the chance of them having undiagnosed sleep apnoea. Long term effects of sleep apnoea are an increased risk of heart attacks, diabetes, stroke, and shortened life span.
Weight loss surgery is a means to achieve long term weight loss and control and one of its many benefits is the improvement of conditions such as sleep apnoea. The main reason for the improvement in sleep apnoea is the significant weight loss that occurs after surgery, which results in a decrease in weight around the neck and throat region relieving the obstruction of breathing during sleep. This causes better and improved sleep patterns. Extensive research has shown that people who undergo weight loss surgery have an improvement in sleep apnoea which results in improved long term health outcomes.
Laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy (keyhole surgery) is known to result in significant and sustained weight loss and alleviates problems such as sleep apnea.
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