Everything you need to know about sleep apnea syndrome about Sleep apnea refers to the temporary cessation of breathing during sleep. The most common type of sleep apnea syndrome is called obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is defined as cessation of airflow during sleep preventing air from entering the lungs caused by an obstruction . It is characterized by repeated episodes of upper airway obstruction that occur during sleep, usually associated with a decrease in oxygen saturation of blood. Another site of obstruction can be the nasal passages.
These periods of "not breathing" does not become clinically significant if the separation has lasted over 10 seconds each time and produce more than 10 times per hour. OSA occurs only during sleep, because there is a lack of muscle tone in your upper airway causes the airway to collapse. The airway is obstructed at several sites that may be due to blockage caused by excess tissue in the airway, large tonsils, and a large tongue and usually includes the muscles of the airway collapse relaxation during sleep.
Other symptoms
Some of the symptoms of obstructive sleep apnea syndrome include, but are not limited to excessive daytime sleepiness, frequent episodes of obstructed breathing during sleep, loud snoring, headaches in the morning, reflecting sleeping, dry mouth on waking, hypertension, overweight, irritability, personality changes, depression, difficulty concentrating, excessive sweating during sleep, heartburn, decreased libido, insomnia, frequent need nocturnal urination (nocturia), restless sleep, nocturnal snorting, gasping, choking (may follow up car), and rapid weight gain etc.
Sleep disorders can range from very mild to very severe. Gravity is often established using the apnea hypopnea index / (AHI), which is the number of apneas plus hypopneas per hour number of sleep - (hypopnea as a reduction of air flow).
Syndrome of obstructive sleep apnea is a potentially fatal disease that requires immediate medical attention. The risk of obstructive sleep apnea undiagnosed include heart attacks, strokes, impotence, irregular heartbeat, high blood pressure and heart disease. In addition, obstructive sleep apnea causes daytime sleepiness that can result in accidents, lost productivity and interpersonal problems. The severity of symptoms can be mild, moderate or severe.
Treatment:
Mild sleep apnea is usually treated with behavioral changes. Losing weight, sleeping on the side are often recommended. There are oral appliances (which help keep the airway open) on the market that can help reduce snoring in three different ways. Some devices can (a) bring the jaw forward or (2) elevate the soft palate or (3) retain the tongue (from falling into the airway and blocking breathing). Sleep Apnea is a progessive condition (gets worse with age) and should not be taken lightly.
Posted on September 3, 2010.
