Why sleep apnea

Someone with severe sleep apnea may have these partial arousals from sleep several hundred times a night.

The most common type of sleep apnea is obstructive sleep apnea, sometimes referred to as OSA. With OSA, the throat muscles in the back of your throat, which naturally become more relaxed during sleep, collapse too much to allow for normal breathing, according to the AASM. Doctors diagnose OSA using a sleep test that measures your cardiorespiratory and brain activity during sleep, which is conducted either at home or at a sleep lab, according to Stanford Health Care.

While central and obstructive sleep apneas share many symptoms — such as episodes of pauses in breathing, constant awakenings during the night, and extreme sleepiness during the day — central sleep apnea often affects people who have underlying illnesses, too, such as a brain infection or other conditions that affect the brainstem, notes the American Sleep Apnea Association.

Certain drugs, such as opioids or benzodiazepines , can also play a role in central sleep apnea. Your doctor may refer you to a sleep specialist for a diagnosis if he or she suspects central sleep apnea, which may involve an overnight sleep test to rule out obstructive sleep apnea or other sleep disorders , notes Mayo Clinic. The sleep specialist may also work with your cardiologist or order scans of your head and heart to rule out other contributing illnesses.

Treatment of central sleep apnea typically means addressing the medical problems that are causing the apnea in the first place — for instance, treating heart problems may improve central sleep apnea symptoms. Reducing the dose of medication can sometimes be helpful, and positive pressure ventilation can be helpful, too, using either CPAP or another type of ventilator, called bilevel positive airway pressure BiPAP , according to Johns Hopkins Medicine.

Doctors have more recently identified a third type of sleep apnea called complex sleep apnea, which is a combination of obstructive sleep apnea and central sleep apnea. Since CPAP is usually quite effective in treating obstructive sleep apnea, its failure to alleviate symptoms would suggest the patient had central sleep apnea.

The problem is that there is still a lot of debate among sleep medicine specialists about what exactly is going on in complex sleep apnea, or what the key characteristics that define it are.

In a study published in the journal Sleep Medicine Clinics , doctors conducted a review of patients referred to the Mayo Clinic Sleep Disorders Center over one month, as well as 20 patients diagnosed with central sleep apnea.

They found that 15 percent of all sleep apnea patients had complex sleep apnea. As many as 84 percent were found to have obstructive sleep apnea, and 0. Risk Factors - Sleep Apnea. Unhealthy lifestyle habits. Alcohol can increase relaxation of the muscles in the mouth and throat, closing the upper airway.

It can also affect how the brain controls sleep or the muscles involved in breathing. Smoking can cause inflammation in the upper airway, affecting breathing, or it can affect how the brain controls sleep or the muscles involved in breathing.

Unhealthy eating patterns and lack of physical activity can lead to overweight and obesity, which can result in sleep apnea. Family history and genetics. Race or ethnicity. Screening and Prevention - Sleep Apnea. Screening for sleep apnea. Healthy lifestyle changes to prevent sleep apnea. Look for. Diagnosis will discuss tests and procedures that your doctor may use to diagnose sleep apnea and rule out other conditions or medicines that may be causing symptoms of sleep apnea.

Living With will explain what your doctor may recommend to prevent your sleep apnea from recurring, getting worse, or causing complications. Research for Your Health will discuss how we are using current research and advancing research to prevent sleep apnea. Participate in NHLBI Clinical Trials will explain our ongoing clinical trials that are investigating prevention strategies for sleep apnea. Signs, Symptoms, and Complications - Sleep Apnea.

Signs and symptoms. Common signs of sleep apnea: Reduced or absent breathing, known as apnea events Frequent loud snoring Gasping for air during sleep Common symptoms of sleep apnea: Excessive daytime sleepiness and fatigue Decreases in attention, vigilance, concentration, motor skills, and verbal and visuospatial memory Dry mouth or headaches when waking Sexual dysfunction or decreased libido Waking up often during the night to urinate Did you know that sleep apnea symptoms may be different for women and children compared with men?

Read more. Read less. Sleep apnea may increase your risk of the following disorders: Asthma Atrial fibrillation Cancers, such as pancreatic, renal, and skin cancers Chronic kidney disease Cognitive and behavioral disorders, such as decreases in attention, vigilance, concentration, motor skills, and verbal and visuospatial memory, as well as dementia in older adults. In children, sleep apnea has been associated with learning disabilities.

Diseases of the heart and blood vessels, such as atherosclerosis , heart attacks , heart failure , difficult-to-control high blood pressure , and stroke Eye disorders, such as glaucoma , dry eye , or keratoconus Metabolic disorders, including glucose intolerance and type 2 diabetes Pregnancy complications, including gestational diabetes and gestational high blood pressure , as well as having a baby with low birth weight Did you know that sleep apnea can cause inflammation and lead to complications?

Diagnosis will explain tests and procedures used to detect signs of sleep apnea and help rule our other conditions that may resemble sleep apnea. Treatment will discuss treatment-related complications or side effects of the treatment for sleep apnea.

Diagnosis - Sleep Apnea. Medical history. To help diagnose sleep apnea, your doctor may consider the following: Information that you provide, such as signs and symptoms that you are experiencing Whether you have a family history of sleep apnea or another sleep disorder Whether you have risk factors for sleep apnea Whether you have complications of undiagnosed or untreated sleep apnea, such as atrial fibrillation, type 2 diabetes, or hard-to-control high blood pressure.

Physical exam. Sleep studies. Studies at a sleep center can: Detect apnea events, which are times when your breathing stops or slows during sleep Detect low or high levels of activity in muscles that control breathing Monitor blood oxygen levels during sleep Monitor brain and heart activity during sleep Your doctor may be able to diagnose mild, moderate, or severe sleep apnea based on the number of sleep apnea events you have in an hour during the sleep study.

Mild: Five to 14 apnea events in an hour Moderate: 15 to 29 apnea events in an hour Severe: 30 or more apnea events in an hour Visit Sleep Studies for more information. Ruling out other medical reasons or conditions. Your doctor may order the following tests to help rule out other medical conditions that can cause sleep apnea: Blood tests to check the levels of certain hormones and to rule out endocrine disorders that could be contributing to sleep apnea. Thyroid hormone can rule out hypothyroidism.

Growth hormone tests can rule out acromegaly. Pelvic ultrasound to examine the ovaries and detect cysts. This can rule out PCOS. Return to Risk Factors to review family history, lifestyle, or other environmental factors that increase your risk of developing sleep apnea.

Return to Signs, Symptoms, and Complications to review common symptoms of sleep apnea. Return to Screening and Prevention to review how to screen for and prevent sleep apnea.

Treatment - Sleep Apnea. Healthy lifestyle changes. Make heart-healthy eating choices. This also includes limiting your alcohol intake, especially before bedtime.

Get regular physical activity. Aim for a healthy weight. Research has shown that losing weight can reduce sleep apnea in people who were also diagnosed with obesity. Develop healthy sleeping habits. Your doctor may recommend general healthy sleep habits, which include getting the recommended amount of sleep based on your age.

Quit smoking. Although these resources focus on heart health, they include basic information about how to quit smoking. Breathing devices. Oral devices. Mandibular repositioning mouthpieces are devices that cover the upper and lower teeth and hold the jaw in a position that prevents it from blocking the upper airway. Tongue retaining devices are mouthpieces that hold the tongue in a forward position to prevent it from blocking the upper airway. Therapy for mouth and facial muscles. Surgical procedures.

Possible surgical procedures include: Tonsillectomy : a surgery to remove the tonsils, which are organs at the back of your throat Maxillary or jaw advancement: a surgery to move the upper jaw maxilla and lower jaw mandible forward, to enlarge the upper airway Tracheostomy : a surgery to make a hole through the front of your neck into your trachea, or windpipe.

A breathing tube, called a trach tube, is placed through the hole and directly into your windpipe to help you breathe. Living With will explain what your doctor may recommend, including lifelong lifestyle changes and medical care to prevent your condition from recurring, getting worse, or causing complications.

Research for Your Health will discuss how we are using current research and advancing research to treat people with sleep apnea. Living With - Sleep Apnea.

Using and caring for your breathing device or mouthpiece. It may take time to adjust to breathing with the help of a CPAP machine. Use your breathing device or CPAP machine for all sleep, including naps.

To benefit fully from your treatment, you should wear your device whenever and wherever you sleep. If you are traveling, be sure to bring your breathing device with you. Call your doctor or sleep specialist right away if your device stops working correctly. Talk to your doctor or supplier if you experience discomfort or have difficulty using your prescribed breathing device. Let the team or supplier know if you are having irritation from the mask, if your mask is not staying on or fitting well, if it leaks air, if you are having difficulty falling or staying asleep, if you wake with dry mouth, or if you have a stuffy or runny nose.

Cleaning the mask and washing your face before putting your mask on can help make a better seal between the mask and your skin. Properly care for your breathing device or CPAP machine. Adding moisture to the air as it flows through the mask can relieve nasal symptoms. Various surgical procedures can widen the airway in people with OSA.

Surgery can stiffen or shrink obstructing tissue, or remove excess tissue or enlarged tonsils. This is a custom-made oral appliance suitable for individuals with mild or moderate OSA.

The mouthpiece holds the jaw in a forward position during sleep to expand the space behind the tongue. This helps keep the upper airway open, preventing apnea and snoring. Side effects of an MRD may include jaw or tooth pain, and potential aggravation of temporomandibular joint disease. Some drugs may help with CSA but should only be used after consultation with a sleep specialist.

Examples include :. Various factors can contribute to the blocking or collapse of the airway. They include the following:. Risk factors for sleep apnea include :. In the United States, Black people, Hispanic people, and Native Americans are more likely to have sleep apnea than white people.

A study suggests that inflammation may play a role in sleep apnea. Experts have linked CSA with the following:. Sleep apnea may increase the risk of the following :. There are links between sleep apnea and various health issues, such as difficulty concentrating, depression, heart attack , and stroke. It may also increase the risk of high blood pressure. Journal of thoracic disease, 7 5 , — Donovan, L.

Sleep, 39 7 , — Maeda, T. Obstructive sleep apnea syndrome should be considered as a cause of nocturia in younger patients without other voiding symptoms. Peppard, P. Longitudinal study of moderate weight change and sleep-disordered breathing.

JAMA, 23 , — Wetter, D. Smoking as a risk factor for sleep-disordered breathing. Archives of internal medicine, 19 , — Medical Encyclopedia [Internet]. Atlanta GA : A. Obstructive sleep apnea - adults. Updated July 2, Retrieved July 21, Lanfranco F.

Sleep apnea syndrome and hypothyroidism. Endocrine, 44 3 , — Vouzouneraki, K. Temporal relationship of sleep apnea and acromegaly: a nationwide study.

Endocrine, 62 2 , — Sleep Apnea Information Page. American Academy of Sleep Medicine. Learn more about Sleep Apnea. By Austin Meadows November 11, By Danielle Pacheco October 29, By Austin Meadows October 29, By Eric Suni October 22, By Danielle Pacheco October 15, Hypercapnia By Danielle Pacheco September 30, Orthopnea By Eric Suni April 29, Load More Articles.