Ed Razma, MD, has been named the new medical director of the Diagnostic Sleep Center at Southwest Memorial Hospital. Dr. Razma is board certified in sleep medicine, as well as in internal medicine and pulmonary medicine. He will oversee activities at the sleep center, interpret sleep studies, and see patients who self-refer or who are referred by their primary care physicians for sleep disorder evaluations.
"I got into sleep medicine and became board certified in the specialty in 2009 because I saw that there was an acute shortage of physicians trained to deal with sleep disorders, an issue that is becoming more common as our population ages," said Razma.
According to Razma, research on sleep disorders has burgeoned in recent years with studies revealing how untreated, long-term sleep problems are associated with cardiovascular disease, stroke, diabetes, dementia, and even cancer. "Patients today are more interested in staying healthy and many who may have ignored their sleep problems in the past are now realizing that not sleeping is not normal and that it causes them to feel poorly," said Razma. Symptoms of sleep disorders include daytime drowsiness, the inability to concentrate, low energy, irritability, and snoring.
For more information about the Diagnostic Sleep Center at Southwest Memorial Hospital, call 564-2678.