Deep vein thrombosis as its name suggests is a blood clot in a deep vein. Usually it is found in the legs. Typically, clots can form both in deep veins and superficial veins. Clots in the superficial veins (better known as superficial thrombophlebitis) hardly cause serious health problems. But with clots in deep veins you need immediate medical care. You cannot take these clots lightly as they can break loose and travel to the lungs, and can cause pulmonary embolism (blocked blood flow in the lungs) which is a life threatening disease. Deep Vein Thrombosis sometimes causes leg to swell, ache and change color.
Snoring and Deep Vein Thrombosis
A recent study by some researchers in Taiwan has brought in a new concept in the field of DVT and its possible causes and treatment methods. The study has found something very strange that there is a deep connection between vein thrombosis and sleep apnea. The researchers have found that snorers are more susceptible to suffer DVT than those without having any sleep issue. many people have sleep apnea but for long their problem remain undiagnosed as they didn’t even hear a thing like sleep apnea entire their life.
Sleep Apnea
Sleep apnea is a type of sleeping disorder in which a person’s berating momentarily stops many times during the night’s sleep. Snoring is one of the most prevalent symptoms of sleep apnea. It is one of the severe conditions human body suffers where sleep is troubled by breaks in breathing as well as snoring. There are an estimated 22 million people in US who suffer from sleep apnea.
Also Read: Why Am I Snoring All Of A Sudden?
Preventing DVT with Sleep Apnea Cure
This seven-year’s study conducted over more than 10,000 people – of whom not all but about half were suffering from sleep apnea and around 40 of them had DVT. DVT is not as common as sleep apnea and thus 40 is an alarming figure. However, the number of people developing Deep Vein Thrombosis in this study is not very large (about 0.4%) still the risk for people with sleep apnea seems high when analyzed in relative term.
To make the thing easier for you to understand here is a relatively easier example for the study conducted over sleep apnea patients. For example, there were 30 cases of DVT that also belong to the group of sleep apnea and 10 from the non-snorers, which is basically a difference of 20 cases (around 0.31%). If sleep apnea was cured in 2000 people then “optimistically” about 6 possible cases of DVT could be easily prevented.
Limitations Worth Noticing
- The diagnosis performed under the study might not be that accurate as the study is based on administrative claims data taken by physicians and non-clinical staff.
- Personal information such as smoking status and index of body mass was not included. Since there is a close connection between DVT and obesity and also the obesity and snoring, there should have included explanations about any relationship among all three.