Florida: Congressman Gus Bilirakis Introduces Sleep Apnea Awareness Bill To Congress

    GURNEE, IL, May 25, 2009 /24-7PressRelease/ -- Congressman Gus Bilirakis (R-Fla.) introduced House Resolution 384, "Sleep Apnea Awareness," which resolves that the House will support raising public awareness of sleep apnea and encourage all Americans to educate themselves and others about the consequences of sleep apnea and its potential treatments. Dr Ira L Shapira a Diplomate of the American Board of Dental Sleep Medicine applauds the Congressman and urges everyone to contact their representatives and senators to support passage of important legislation that will make the nations roads safer and lower health care costs. Dr Shapira is the founder of http://www.ihatecpap.com that promotes diagnosis and treatment of sleep apnea. CPAP is the gold standard of treatment for sleep apnea but the majority of patients do not tolerate the treatment. Dr Shapira does not hate CPAP but ofers information on oral appliances that treat sleep apnea and that have been shown to be better tolerated than CPAP. Information on oral appliance treatment of sleep apnea can be found at http://www.ihatecpap.com/oral_appliance.html

Below is text of the full resolution:
HRES 384 Recognizing the importance of increased awareness of sleep apnea, and for other purposes.
Whereas sleep apnea is a common condition that affects more than 12,000,000 Americans, according to the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute at the National Institutes of Health;
Whereas there are several types of sleep apnea that cause people with this condition to repeatedly stop breathing throughout the night, often many times;
Whereas sleep apnea is a chronic condition that disrupts sleep three or more nights each week, leading to excessive daytime sleepiness;
Whereas sleep apnea becomes more common with age, and 1 in 10 people over the age of 65 suffers from it;
Whereas sleep apnea is more common in men than women, and more than half of the people with sleep apnea are overweight;
Whereas sleep apnea can strike anyone, at any age, at any time, including children;
Whereas untreated sleep apnea can lead to high blood pressure, heart attack, stroke, obesity, and diabetes;
Whereas untreated sleep apnea can also increase the chance of having work-related or driving accidents and adversely impact the quality of life of those suffering from this condition in other ways;
Whereas lifestyle changes, mouthpieces, surgery, and/or breathing devices can successfully treat sleep apnea in many people; and
Whereas the lack of public awareness of this serious condition leads to many undiagnosed and untreated cases: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
(1) supports raising public awareness of sleep apnea; and
(2) encourages all Americans to educate themselves and others about the consequences of sleep apnea and its potential treatments.

I HATE CPAP LLC is a major organization that has worked diligently to increase public awareness of the dangers of sleep apnea. http://www.ihatecpap.com/sleep_apnea_dangers.html

Several Florida dentists have joined this effort in promoting diagnosis and treatment of sleep apnea. These dentists recognize that awareness of sleep apnea without tretment is insufficient. The Gold Standard of treatment for Sleep Apnea is CPAP but unfortunately only 23-45% of patients tolerate CPAP. Most patients prefer Comfortable Oral Appliances offered by Dental Sleep Medicine to CPAP. Unfortunately many patients are never offered oral appliances. Oral appliances are considered a first line of treatment for obstructive sleep apnea by the American Academy of Sleep Medicine. They are also considered an alternative treatment for severe apnea when patients do not tolerate CPAP. Most patients do not tolerate CPAP treatment and many who do tolerate use it for only 4-5 hours a night.

The following Florida dentists applaud Congressman Bilirakis bill. Contact them as your first step to better sleep.

Dr Joseph M Barton DMD Jacksonville, Florida http://www.jacksonville.ihatecpap.com/

Dr Jill Morris Sarasota, Florida http://www.jacksonville.ihatecpap.com/

These dentists are helping to bring better sleep and better lives to the citizens of Florida. If you have questions about sleep apnea or are interested in an alternative to CPAP contact them today. Le Congressman Gus Bilirakis know that you appreciate his excellent work.

To learn more about the dangers of sleep apnea go to http://www.ihatecpap.com/sleep_apnea_dangers.html

A recent study showed that snoring even when apnea is not present greatly increases the risks of carotid atherosclerosis and stroke. See the link following.

http://www.24-7pressrelease.com/press-release/snoring-killsheavy-snoring-increases-risk-of-stroke-and-carotid-atherosclerosis-risk-is-independent-of-other-risk-factors-public-health-implications-are-enormous-according-to-article-in-sleep-september-1-2008-sleep-apnea-dentists-may-play-major-64910.php

Dr Ira L Shapira is an author and section editor of Sleep and Health Journal, President of I HATE CPAP LLC, President Dato-TECH, and has a Dental Practice with his partner Dr Mark Amidei. He has recently formed Chicagoland Dental Sleep Medicine Associates. He is a Regent of ICCMO and its representative to the TMD Alliance, He was a founding and certified member of the Sleep Disorder Dental Society which became the American Academy of Dental Sleep Medicine, A founding member of DOSA the Dental Organization for Sleep Apnea. He is a Diplomate of the American Board of Dental Sleep Medicine, A Diplomat of the American Academy of Pain Management, a graduate of LVI. He is a former assistant professor at Rush Medical School's Sleep Service where he worked with Dr Rosalind Cartwright who is a founder of Sleep Medicine and Dental Sleep Medicine. Dr Shapira is a consultant to numerous sleep centers and teaches courses in Dental Sleep Medicine in his office to doctors from around the U.S. He is the Founder of I HATE CPAP LLC and http://www.ihatecpap.com Dr Shapira also holds several patents on methods and devices for the prophylactic minimally invasive early removal of wisdom teeth and collection of bone marrow and stem cells. Dr Shapira is a licensed general dentist in Illinois and Wisconsin.

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