Sleep Study

What Is Sleep Apnea?
Sleep apnea is a common disorder that can be very serious.

Sleep apnea (ap-nee-uh) syndrome (sin-drom) is also called "SAS." Apnea is when you stop breathing for 10 or more seconds. You have SAS if you stop breathing 5 or more times in 1 hour while asleep. Or, if you stop breathing 30 or more times during a 6 hour sleep period. But if you have bad SAS, you may stop breathing many more times while asleep.

Apneic episodes are more common in overweight men and in older people. But, anyone can develop sleep apnea. These episodes can be made worse if you use alcohol or medicines that slow breathing. The 2 kinds of sleep apnea are central apnea and obstructive (ub-struk-tiv) apnea.

Central apnea is when the brain seems to forget to tell the breathing muscles to work. With central apnea, the breathing airways stay open while the chest muscles and diaphragm (di-uh-fram) stop working. When the amount of oxygen starts to fall in your body, a brain alarm goes off. Then you wake up and start breathing. You may or may not snore with central apnea. Central apnea is often mixed with obstructive sleep apnea. 

Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is more serious than central apnea. During sleep the breathing muscles relax much more than when you are awake. In OSA, your throat and tongue muscles relax and sag. This blocks the windpipe and makes breathing hard and noisy. The muscles of your diaphragm and chest work harder as the pressure increases to open up the windpipe.

Oxygen in the blood drops causing the blood pressure to rise and the heart to work harder. As the oxygen decreases, you wake up to breath. This cycle goes on during sleep and causes you to be tired when awake. With time, these apneic episodes can cause a stroke or heart and lung problems.

Causes: SAS is usually caused by being overweight. The extra fat in the throat blocks off the flow of air at night.

Signs and Symptoms: Snoring is the main sign of SAS. But not all snorers have sleep apnea. With SAS you may gasp or choke while asleep. Your heart rate may slow down or your heart may stop for a few seconds. Other signs may be behavior (how you act) changes, depression, daytime tiredness, or morning headaches. High blood pressure and an abnormal heartbeat are other signs.

Care: SAS can be treated and controlled most of the time. At first, you will probably be seen in a clinic or caregiver's office. But, at times, you might need to go into the hospital for tests and treatment. Caregivers may need to monitor your heart and how much oxygen is in your blood. They may also get a blood gas test and put you in a sleep study called polysomnography (pall-e-som-naw-gruh-fee). Ask your caregiver for information about SAS to help you understand about the different tests and treatments.

If the SAS is not serious, it may be treated with weight loss, not drinking alcohol, or sleeping on your side. Caregivers may suggest continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) which is a special breathing machine for more serious SAS. Other treatments include a dental appliance therapy (mouthpiece), medicine or surgery.