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The Columbia Press August 13, 2021 Senior Moments 7 Here’s to Your Health with Emma Edwards by Dr. Keri Brown Alert: An uptick can be good For health and mate, don’t ignore a snore Sometimes I get tired of hearing noise – such as that from my television -- in the background of my life and so I mute the TV. I am quietly sitting in my recliner reading a book when, suddenly, something makes me glance up to see a line streaming across my muted television. Of course. I as- sume it’s important and con- tinue reading it. The other day the line said something about an “uptick” in activity in the marketplace. Right away, my mind drifted to the farmer’s market held once or twice a week in our extended area. I quickly unmuted my tele- vision. Guess what was being talked about? Yes, of course, it was the stock market. For some reason, I had nev- er heard the word “uptick” before. So, I looked it up in my handy Merriam-Webster dictionary. We have many upticks in our lives and still more are around the corner. Where have I been? The word has been around since about 1952 and means a small increase or rise. My weight could even have an uptick! We had quite an uptick weatherwise the past few days, as the temperatures rose to record levels once again this year. While I pondered that, it oc- curred to me that if we could have an uptick, we also could have a downtick. But that word is not in my dictionary. I did find it online, howev- er, and learned that it could refer to a price or offer on a stock that is lower than the previous price at which the stock was sold. Sample sentence: Our correspon- dents somberly reported each downtick in stock prices. So, I guess both uptick and downtick are in my vocabu- lary now. The trick for those with memory loss is -- when one learns a new word -- to repeat it or use it three times over the next week. I will try. People may laugh. While on the subject of learning new words, I re- cently heard a “blonde” joke. Dare I share it? I’m not sure whether it would be consid- ered sexist or maybe just not very nice, especially since some of my offspring are beautiful blondes. Oh well, here goes, without showing undue prejudice! A blonde woman was having financial trouble and decided to kidnap a child so she could demand a ransom. She went to a local park, grabbed a lit- tle boy and tucked a note into his pocket that read, “I have kidnapped your child. Leave $10,000 in a plain brown bag behind the big oak tree in the park tomorrow at 7 a.m.” She signed it, “The Blonde.” She told the little boy to go straight home and give the note to his mother. The next morning, she returned to the park to find the $10,000 in a bag behind the oak tree, just as she had instructed. Inside the bag was the fol- lowing note, “Here is your money. I cannot believe that one blonde would do this to another!” Maybe, in closing, I could wish you good upticks and few downticks (except for the scale if needed) and minimal undue prejudice in the days ahead. Snoring is a common com- plaint among couples. But of- ten, it’s more than just noise. Snoring and daytime sleep- iness are common signs of a potentially dangerous condi- tion called sleep apnea. The most common type of sleep apnea is called ob- structive sleep apnea (OSA). It causes someone to stop breathing as much as 30 times or more during sleep. These pauses momentarily wake a person up, although they may not remember be- ing awake. OSA is caused by the col- lapse of the airway in the back of the nose, mouth and throat during sleep. The vi- bration of the relaxed airway triggers the snoring. When the airway closes complete- ly, it cuts off oxygen to the lungs. That’s what wakes some- one up, gasping for air: Oxy- gen can’t get to the lungs and brain, and the body becomes oxygen-deprived. This puts a big strain on the heart. OSA increases the risk of heart failure, high blood pressure, atrial fibrillation (an irregu- lar heartbeat), type 2 diabe- tes and stroke. Could I have OSA? Loud snoring is the most obvious hallmark of OSA. But if you live alone, you may not have had anyone tell you that you snore. Other signs and symptoms you might have OSA include: You stop breathing while you’re sleeping. You wake up from sleep gasping or choking. You wake up frequently. You have headaches in the morning. You feel sleepy or tired during the day or have prob- lems concentrating. How is OSA treated? If you suspect that you may have OSA, talk with your doc- tor. The condition can be di- agnosed by a sleep study or with an at-home sleep ap- nea test. CMH’s new Home Sleep Testing Service offers an easy, cost-effective way to test for OSA from the comfort of your own bed. OSA can be treated with a continuous positive air- way pressure (CPAP) de- vice, which involves wearing a mask while sleeping that keeps air pressure flowing in your airways so they don’t close down. Research has shown that people who are treated for OSA have a lower risk of ear- ly death. It’s important to not shrug off OSA as just a snoring problem. Treatment is vital to your heart—and your over- all good health. Call 503-338-7513 to ask about home sleep testing. Dr. Keri Brown specializ- es in pulmonary and sleep medicine at Columbia Me- morial Hospital. Here’s to Your Health is brought to you by CMH.