Sleep Apnea

Sleep Apnea, a serious sleep disorder, is caused when the sleeper's breathing is temporarily interrupted while sleeping. Sleep Apnea is dangerous, unpleasant and those persons experiencing any symptoms of this disorder are encouraged to seek medical attention. Sleep Apnea is categorized into two types: Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA) and Central Sleep Apnea.

OSA is caused by the sleeper's airway being blocked by the soft palate (the soft tissue in the back of the throat) collapsing while sleeping. Symptomatic patients experience disrupted sleep when the airway is blocked, causing them to snore very loudly, followed by periods of 10 seconds or more of silence whereby the lack of oxygen to the brain and increased carbon dioxide intake causes them to wake up abruptly, sometimes with a choking or gasping sound, as they regain their breathing. Oftentimes these episodes occur hundreds of times per night and the patient has no recollection of this phenomena, only experiencing sleepiness during the day, possible morning headaches, forgetfulness, changes in mood and a lack of interest in sexual activity. The patient can also complain of a recurrence of dry or sore throat upon awakening. This is the most common form of sleep apnea, mostly affecting overweight males over the age of 40. OSA has been known to affect anyone, regardless of age (including children) or gender and is considered to be genetic. Persons having a large neck or a lot of tissue in the back of the throat also have a higher risk for OSA.

In persons who suffer from Central Sleep Apnea, the airway in the throat is not obstructed but the respiratory control center is affected, causing the brain to fail in sending the proper signals to breathe. This disorder is given its name because it is common among people with a central nervous system dysfunction. This can occur if a person has suffered a stroke, heart failure, heart or lung disease and patients of neuromuscular diseases such as ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis). The symptoms for this type of sleep apnea are similar to those of OSA but also include insomnia and more frequent nightly awakenings.

If either type of sleep apnea remains untreated, there are risks of health problems resulting from this disorder. Hypertension, heart failure, irregular heartbeats, heart attacks and stroke are risks of untreated sleep apnea. Sleep apnea can affect people socially as well as medically, resulting in lack of enthusiasm and underachievement in academics for children and adolescents, and a reduction of productiveness on the job for adults as well as being a potential cause of motor vehicle accidents.

If a person thinks they might be experiencing sleep apnea, your doctor can diagnose by performing a polysomnogram (PSG) test. The person would be required to sleep for the doctor and various body functions would be tested during this supervised sleep. The doctor tests the electrical activity of the brain, muscle activity, heart rate, eye movements, respiratory effort, blood oxygen levels and air flow that the patient's body undergoes involuntarily while sleeping. Additionally, a multiple sleep latency test (MSLT) is administered the following day, measuring the speed of falling asleep during various times of the day when the patient would normally be awake.

A polysomnogram (PSG) is a test used to diagnose sleep apnea. During the test, a variety of body functions, such as the electrical activity of the brain, eye movements, muscle activity, heart rate, respiratory effort, airflow and blood oxygen levels are recorded at night during sleep. After the study is completed, the number of times breathing is impaired during sleep is tallied and the severity of sleep apnea is graded. In some cases, a multiple sleep latency test (MSLT) is performed on the day after the overnight test to measure the speed of falling asleep. In this test, patients are given several opportunities to fall asleep during the course of a day when they normally would be awake.