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Upper Airway Resistance Syndrome (UARS)

SYMPTOMS

UARS can be confused with OSA, but there are significant differences. There is no cessation of the airways with UARS. During UARS, there is enough airway resistance that a person is awakened, and their normal sleep pattern is disrupted. A patient with UARS is usually not aware when their sleep is being interrupted, but still develop symptoms that affect their quality of life.

  • Excessive daytime fatigue
  • Problems with memory and attention
  • Irritability
  • Problems initiating and maintaining sleep
  • Dry mouth
  • Morning headaches
  • Teeth grinding

Even if you are diagnosed with UARS, that doesn’t mean your necessarily snore loudly. Sometimes, without snoring, your airways are restricted enough for you to experiences the episodes of arousal and heavy breathing.

DIAGNOSIS

Not everyone who goes through a sleep study will meet the AHI cutoff to officially be diagnosed with OSA. In that case, there are still numbers that can be reviewed to figure out what the issue may be. Some of those numbers from a sleep report include.

  • Respiratory Effort-Related Arousals (RERAs): Shows similar symptoms as OSA, but it is characterized by a number of breaths where airflow is decreased and respiratory effort is increased. This usually last at least 10 seconds and can cause awakenings.
  • Respiratory Disturbance Index (RDI): All apneas + hypopneas + RERAs per hour of sleep
  • Lowest Oxygen Saturation: The lowest oxygen concentration in your blood reached during the sleep study

When it comes toUARS, the RERAs are important for diagnosing it because the breaths taken during the RERAs are causing patients to be symptomatic due to the disrupted sleep pattern.

TREATMENT

When you undergo a sleep test, just because the doctor doesn’t diagnose you with OSA, that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t receive treatment. Being diagnosed with UARS is on the path to developing OSA, so if left untreated, you could develop OSA unknowingly. Treatment of UARS is similar to treatment of OSA and may include:

  • Lifestyle modifications
  • CPAP
  • Positional changes
  • Dental Sleep Therapy

During dental sleep therapy, a custom, adjustable mouth instrument is manufactured to be worn. Once created, the instrument is worn nightly to push the lower jaw in a more forward position. This keeps your airways from being blocked by your tongue and other soft tissues, thus leading to a decrease in snoring, increased oxygen levels and improved sleep.

The Center for Sleep will work with you to create a personalized treatment plan that will ensure the most optimal health for you. We will work closely with your other medical providers to determine what treatments are best for your diagnosis. We are only successful when our patients get treatment plans they actually use, and they begin to see the results. The earlier we can diagnose and begin treatment, the better your results will be. We want to see you get a better night’s sleep, so let us help you today!