BATON ROUGE — If you snore, it could be a sign that you have obstructive sleep apnea which is a serious medical condition that can cause heart problems and other health issues.

Obstructive sleep apnea occurs when a person stops and starts breathing while asleep. It happens because the throat muscles relax and block the airway.

"The tongue can fall backward and can obstruct the airway, causing either snoring or obstruction." Mayo Clinic’s Dr. Virend Somers said.

When a person breathes normally, their blood oxygen saturation level is usually between 95% and 100%. Dr. Somers says obstructive sleep apnea can drop that oxygen level down to as low as 70% or 60%.

It can cause high blood pressure and strain your cardiovascular system, increasing the risk of heart problems.

"What we can do is give you an oxygen monitor to wear at home and look at the oxygen tracing. And if it looks problematic, then you can have a sleep study." Dr. Somers said.

If you're diagnosed with sleep apnea, treatment may include weight loss, a continuous positive airway pressure machine, or CPAP; a mouthpiece designed to keep the throat open; postural therapy to prevent you from sleeping on your back; or even surgery or implanting a device that stimulates the airway to be more open during sleep.