Does your family history put you at risk for OSA?

Yes. Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is caused by a number of factors. Here is a list of traits that can be inherited generation-to-generation among families:

• History of loud snorers in the family. Parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, brothers and sisters.

• History of heart attack, hypertension or stroke in the family. All three are signs of cardipulmonary distress. Snorers are twice as likely than non-snorers to suffer from all the above conditions.

• History of sleep disturbances in the family including insomnia, poor sleep, being constantly tired, being able to fall asleep anywhere including while driving, reading and watching TV.

• Retrognathia. If the chin is set back under the skull it causes the airway to be smaller and narrower, and thus more likely to close off during the relaxation of sleep.

• Neck size 15 or larger in women, neck size 17 or larger in men. The extra fatty tissue in the neck area crowds the airway and causes it to become narrow or to close off entirely during sleep.

• Large tonsils, adenoids, or a history of scar tissue in the palate area.

• Obesity.