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Sleep apnea is a disorder characterized by periods in which a sleeping person is momentarily unable to move respiratory muscles or maintain an air flow through the nose and mouth, and thus stops breathing. Sleep apnea derives its name from the Greek word apnea, which means “without breath.”
People with sleep apnea stop breathing for 10 to 30 seconds at a time while they are sleeping. These short stops in breathing can happen up to 400 times every night! For this reason, patients with sleep apnea sleep very poorly, and wake up in the morning still feeling tired. When sleep apnea is not diagnosed or treated, it can cause serious health risks. Sufferers remain tired throughout the day, sometimes falling asleep in the middle of a conversation or while driving. Other consequences of undiagnosed sleep apnea include heart attack, stroke, impotence, irregular heartbeat, high blood pressure, and heart disease. There are two kinds of sleep apnea: obstructive apnea and central apnea. Nine out of 10 patients are diagnosed with obstructive apnea. Obstructive sleep apnea occurs when something blocks the windpipe (trachea), which is the passage that brings air into the body. Possible blockages include the tongue, tonsils, uvula (the little piece of flesh that hangs down in the back of the throat), a large amount of fatty tissue in the throat, or relaxed throat muscles. Central sleep apnea, by comparison, is rare. Central sleep apnea is related to the central nervous system, and occurs when the brain fails to send the proper signals to the muscles used for breathing, or when the signal sent from the brain is somehow interrupted. Sleep apnea is very common. According to the National Institute of Health, it affects more than 12 million Americans. Risk factors include being male and over the age of forty, but sleep apnea can strike people of either gender and any age group, even children. People who are overweight also have an elevated risk of developing sleep apnea. Many people affected by obesity have difficulty breathing when they sleep, as fatty tissues in the pharynx and neck can compress and block the airway. This causes carbon dioxide levels in the body to rise to uncomfortable and unsafe levels, and may awaken an individual several times throughout the night. Sleep apnea may be relieved by wearing a CPAP or BiPAP machine at night. CPAP and BiPAP machines are devices that are worn over the face to assist with breathing. Weight loss surgery may help relieve sleep apnea in obese individuals. Most obese patients who needed to use CPAP or BiPAP machines before surgery were able to stop using them within several months after surgery. |
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