(HealthDay News) -- Having sleep apnea causes people to briefly stop breathing during sleep. Frequently, the condition is accompanied by snoring and a loud snort or choking sound when breathing resumes.
The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute offers this list of risk factors for sleep apnea:
- Being overweight.
- Being male.
- Being aged 65 or older.
- Being a post-menopausal woman.
- Being Hispanic, black or of Pacific Island descent.
- Having a family history of sleep apnea.
- Having small airways.
- Having enlarged tonsils.
- Being a smoker.
- Having high blood pressure.
