Of the different types of sleep apnea,obstructive sleep apnea (OSA)is the most common.
Its estimated that approximately 20% of adult males and 10% of postmenopausal women experience OSA.
Sleep apnea is also dangerous for your health and has been associated withmedical complications, such as heart disease.
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Enlarged tissue around the upper airwaysuch aslarge tonsilscan sometimes contribute to OSA.
Risk factors for OSA include:
During sleep, the bodys muscles naturally relax.
Most people who have OSA do not notice their own symptoms.
The most common symptom of OSA is tiredness and a need for excessive sleep.
You may also have headaches due to fatigue and lack of restful sleep.
A spouse or roommate most commonly notices this symptom.
These pauses can occur many times each night.
With OSA, you’re free to have episodes that occur tens or hundreds of times per night.
The brief periods of wakefulness during sleep that occur with OSA can be recognized with a sleep study.
Several different treatmentsare available for OSA.
These may include lifestyle changes.
Sleeping with your head elevated and losing weight can help some people eliminate or reduce episodes of OSA.
Additionally, simple treatments can include wearing anoral applianceto help keep the upper airways open.
Very rarely, surgical intervention may be necessary to alleviate obstruction from enlarged tissue covering the upper airway.
This can potentially result in a lack of oxygen to the brain, brain damage, or even death.
Central sleep apnea is also seen in people who have aCheyne-Stokes breathing pattern.
Opioid medications are also associated with central sleep apnea.
The signs of CSA can vary widely, depending on the severity and underlying cause.
In some cases, very youngchildren can be diagnosedat birth or shortly after birth.
A CPAP machine may be helpful in the treatment of CSA as a means to prevent interrupted breathing.
Complex sleep apnea, or mixed sleep apnea, has several variations.
You may have a combined punch in of sleep apnea or you could develop both conditions independently.
Sometimes people who have OSA can develop CSA.
Additionally, some people may have independent risk factors for both conditions.
It can be difficult for an individual or to differentiate between OSA, CSA and mixed sleep apnea.
This complicated diagnosis may emerge during diagnostic testing.
Sometimes, people may have a mixed punch in.
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