"I am yawning a lot lately and I do not even feel tired," a viewer wrote. "Sometimes when I take a deep breath, it will simply turn into a big yawn instead. It just feels strange that sometimes I can't deeply inhale and then deeply exhale without the exhale becoming a yawn. Any suggestions?"
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This is a very good question because many dismiss excessive yawning as a side effect of feeling tired or not getting a sound sleep. However, according to several studies and reports, excessive yawning may be a sign of a more serious underlying disease(s) of which Chronic Kidney Disease and Dialysis patients should be aware.
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Unfortunately, a common myth is that yawning always indicates a need for sleep. This is not always the case. Although yawning seems like a benign enough phenomenon, and people often yawn as they are ready to retire for the night, Chronic Kidney Disease, Dialysis patients and others also yawn when they awake in the morning and at other times during the day. Hence, yawning seems to "depend on a variety of factors such as arousal level, distraction," and even underlying illnesses, suggested Askdoctor.com.
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According to the National Institutes of Health, in some people, excessive yawning may be a reaction which could indicate a heart problem or in rare cases, it could also signify a number of brain problems. Research released by Milton S. Hershey Medical Center (Penn State University) was a bit more specific, revealing that excessive yawning may be a sign of, "heart attack or aortic dissection (a serious condition in which there is a tear in the wall of the major artery carrying blood out of the heart), tumor, stroke, Hypotension (Low Blood Pressure), and even side effects of certain medications."
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If you are experiencing yawning coupled with other heart failure symptoms, like feeling as though you have something heavy on your chest or shortness of breath, call 911 immediately! However, if your symptoms are less severe, be sure to bring your issue to the attention of your Nephrologists. S/he will check the medications you are taking and will likely want to know how many times you yawn in an hour.
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If Nephrologists cannot conclude what, if any, physical symptoms could be causing a Chronic Kidney Disease or Dialysis patient's excessive yawning, then they may want to conduct a sleep study which measures blood oxygen levels, heart rate, rapid eye movement, muscle activity and brain waves in an attempt to diagnose whether a Chronic Kidney Disease or Dialysis patient's excessive yawning is due to a sleep disorder.
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