Grand Junction, Colo. (KKCO) - More than 12 million Americans
suffer from sleep apnea, so a local doctor brought awareness to
the issue at the Hospice Care Center as a part of Heart Health
Awareness month. Dr. Ross Pacini with Western Slope Cardiology
spoke about the condition, which occurs when people stop
breathing at night. This can lead to heart issues, such as high
blood pressure, and can increase your chance of suffering a
heart attack. Each year millions of Americans who have sleep
apnea go undiagnosed. It is one of the biggest risk factors that
lead to heart disease. "Heart disease being the number one
killer a lot of people, their first diagnosis is they present
with a heart attack, and we'd like people to get caught earlier
then that. We'd like to help them with prevention earlier then
that, and so we want them to understand the risk factors for
heart disease and get those things treated ahead of time," says
Dr. Pacini. Some signs of sleep apnea are snoring, excessive
weigh gain, and stopping breath