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967168 tn?1477584489

Silly question

Can you have sleep apnea if you sleep on your side? silly question but I thought it was when you slept on your back?

I have a sleep study next month after my cardiologist referred me because of frequent PVC's, she said sleep apnea may aggravate these and asked if I slept on my back or snored?

I asked my husband and he said I dont know LOL so I told him to start paying attention and he said I was snoring laying on my side.
4 Responses
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1355118 tn?1298564879
MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL
Hi, welcome to the forum, snoring is a sound produced due to vibration of the soft tissue in upper airways and suggests the increasing resistance to air flow. Snoring is seen in sleep apnea but he doesn't seem to have it. Some person gets sleep apnea when they sleep on one side due to obstruction in airway due to many causes.

There are many conditions which is associated with snoring. It can be associated with conditions that narrow the upper airway, including obesity, nasal congestion, craniofacial abnormalities, hypothyroidism, acromegaly, and adenotonsillar hypertrophy.
You need to get polysomnography or portable monitoring done to rule out sleep apnea. With careful history, physical examination of upper airways and thyroid status will help to rule out the cause.

I suggest him to consult sleep specialist for further evaluation and try to sleep in comfortable position with proper ventilated room. Change the sleeping position because you tend to snore more when sleeping on your back, sleeping on your side may be helpful. Take care and regards.
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Avatar universal
yup i have it on my back or side just worse on my back
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967168 tn?1477584489
Thanks :)  for the response
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
Yes, you can still having sleep apnea while sleeping on your side.  for most people the sleep apnea worsens when sleeping on the back.  This is because the soft tissues of the throat especially the tongue occlude the airway.
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