“Unfortunately, in Pakistan, Sleep Apnea is an under-diagnosed disease. Sleep itself is a vital sign, like pulse is a vital sign so it has a rhythm. Sleep is an arithmetic process that goes regularly in our body. So, why our body requires Sleep, it is an important question. A normal person spends 1/3rd of his life while sleeping. During sleep, two main organs, brain and muscles require relaxation so that it could regain the energy for next day physical & mental activities. The most common symptom of this disease is Snoring, unfortunately, in our setup snoring is considered healthy which is not true in all the cases. Snoring with pause is called apnea and it’s very common in our society. Bedpartner is the focal person who identifies if the patient snores or not? Other common symptom is obesity which may lead to unhealthy snore. Sleep Apnea is the mother of metabolic syndrome as progression of multiple co-morbidities are affiliated with it like diabetes, hypertension, and other cardiovascular diseases. Timely diagnosis is pivotal for management of Sleep Apnea, so as sleep specialist, my advice is to opt for early diagnosis if patients and their caretakers identifies that they’ve apparent symptoms like unhealthy snoring and obesity.”

Associate Professor of Pulmonology, Director Sleep Research LabLahore General Hospital, Lahore

“General public assumes “Snoring” to be a healthy sign and don’t even consider it something that may lead to a fatal disease later. In fact, most of the people consider it a sign of Luck. Snoring in middle-aged people is normal when its lesser in number and frequency. Its called as Light Snoring or Socially Acceptable Snoring. Snoring when becomes loud to the extent that it starts disturbing the patient and bedpartner, then it becomes a problem. This kind of snoring is called as pathological snoring or snoring that is not socially acceptable. Loud snoring shouldn’t be taken lightly as it may lead to obstruction in breathing which may lead to Sleep Apnea and other co-morbid conditions may develop like hypertension, late onset of diabetes & sexual disorders etc. The patients suffering from sleep apnea complain about daytime sleepiness, lack of concentration etc. Sleep Apnea is not limited to male adults, the prevalence is equivalent in female adults and even in children it is increasing due to childhood obesity. Obesity is a major factor of developing Sleep Apnea. Diagnosis of this disease is made via Sleep Test which is also known as Polysomnography. This is one night study of around 6-8 hours in which several parameters are measured like oxygen level, breath per minute, body movement, quality of sleep & level of snoring and apnea episodes during the whole night. Without Sleep study, the severity & type of sleep apnea couldn’t be established. Sleep study can also be conducted at home which is called as Home Sleep Test (HST). Sleep apnea is a mortal disease and awareness about this disease is required at greater level so that proper diagnosis and timely treatment could be initiated.”

Consultant Pulmonologist
Ex-HOD (Nishter Hospital, Multan)