January 24, 2007
What Is Sleep Apnea?
My husband snores a lot and you can't imagine how frustrating it is trying to sleep at night but not being able to do so because of his loud snoring. It even woke up the baby once! I searched through the internet trying to find a cure for snoring and I stumbled upon this article saying snoring is a sleep disorder and may be due to sleep apnea. That was quite a surprise because I thought I was the one having sleeping problems because of his snoring. Can you tell me more about sleep apnea? Any information would be really appreciated.
Does your roommate complains about your snoring? Do you feel tired even after a long night’s sleep? Do you often wake up at night gasping? Or needing to go to the bathroom to urinate? Are you experiencing excessive sleepiness during the daytime? Then you should have yourself checked. You must be having sleep apnea.
Sleep apnea is a sleeping disorder often characterized by marked reduction or cessation of breathing during sleep usually lasting from ten to twenty seconds or more thereby causing a drop in the oxygen saturation in the blood. This sudden decrease in oxygen levels in the body causes sleep disruption. This disorder may be a symptom of an underlying more serious disease process, which is why it is important that those who have had episodes of sleep apnea should be checked and be given proper treatments. The definitive diagnostic test for sleep apnea is a procedure called polysomnography, or sleep study, and CPAP (continuous positive airway pressure) is the most common nonsurgical sleep apnea treatment today.
Sleep apnea has two types: obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) and central sleep apnea (CSA). Let us go over them briefly.
Obstructive sleep apnea is usually caused by narrowing or physical obstructions in the airway. The most common causes of narrowing of the airway are swelling of the nasal turbinates (these are our air filters in the nose), deviated nasal septum, an enlarged uvula (the little fleshy thing hanging at the back of our throats), an anatomically narrow airway, or obesity. These obstructions reduce air going into the lungs causing a decrease in the oxygen levels and also cause snoring when air is being forced through the narrow air passages. The lower-than-normal oxygen concentration in the bloodstream causes the person to gasp for air and triggering the sleep disruption.
Obstructive Sleep Apnea needs to be treated because it can cause stress and further health complications like hypertension and other heart problems, and early detection and evaluation of the disease process is essential.
Central apnea is another form of sleep apnea that occurs when the breathing center of the brain fails to send the signal to breathe to the respiratory muscles, mainly the diaphragm and the internal and external intercostal muscles. This is characterized by cessation of breathing lasting for twenty seconds or more causing decreased blood oxygen saturation, gasping for air, restlessness, and hypotonia or muscle weakness. This is common among people who have cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases and infants, especially premature ones, with congenital heart disorders.
Central sleep apnea treatment often requires treatment of the underlying disease process that is causing the sickness.
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