Sleep apnea (or sleep apnoea in British English) is a sleep disorder characterized by pauses in breathing during sleep. Each episode, called an apnea (Greek: ἄπνοια (ápnoia), from α- (a-), privative, πνέειν (pnéein), to breathe), lasts long enough so that one or more breaths are missed, and such episodes occur repeatedly throughout sleep. The standard definition of any apneic event includes a minimum 10 second interval between breaths, with either a neurological arousal (a 3-second or greater shift in EEG frequency, measured at C3, C4, O1, or O2), a blood oxygen desaturation of 3-4% or greater, or both arousal and desaturation. Sleep apnea is diagnosed with an overnight sleep test called a polysomnogram, or a "sleep study".
Clinically significant levels of sleep apnea are defined as five or more episodes per hour of any type of apnea (from the polysomnogram). There are three distinct forms of sleep apnea: central, obstructive, and complex (i.e., a combination of central and obstructive) constituting 0.4%, 84% and 15% of cases respectively. Breathing is interrupted by the lack of respiratory effort in central sleep apnea; in obstructive sleep apnea, breathing is interrupted by a physical block to airflow despite respiratory effort . In complex (or "mixed") sleep apnea, there is a transition from central to obstructive features during the events themselves.
Regardless of type, the individual with sleep apnea is rarely aware of having difficulty breathing, even upon awakening. Sleep apnea is recognized as a problem by others witnessing the individual during episodes or is suspected because of its effects on the body ( sequelae ). Symptoms may be present for years (or even decades) without identification, during which time the sufferer may become conditioned to the daytime sleepiness and fatigue associated with significant levels of sleep disturbance.
Development and discovery of sleep apnea in humans
It has been suggested that certain dogs may have sleep apnea, with the Bulldog being the first dog documented to have sleep apnea, which has since been observed also in Pugs. It has been theorized that just as bulldogs were bred to have certain facial features, humans suffer from sleep apnea because humans too were "bred" by evolution to create
"a creature with a precarious windpipe that is vulnerable to obstruction.. the price our species paid (in evolutionary terms) for the rich repertoire of sounds we can make with our voice. In other words, sleep apnea is the price we paid for our ability to speak."
The first reports in the medical literature of what is now called obstructive sleep apnea date only from 1965, when it was independently described by French and German investigators. However, the clinical picture of this condition has long been recognized as a character trait, without an understanding of the disease process. The term “Pickwickian syndrome” that is sometimes used for the syndrome was coined by the famous early 20th century physician, William Osler, who must have been a reader of Charles Dickens. The description of Joe, "the fat boy" in Dickens's novel, The Pickwick Papers , is an accurate clinical picture of adult obstructive sleep apnea syndrome.
The early reports of obstructive sleep apnea in the medical literature described individuals who were very severely affected, often presenting with severe hypoxemia, hypercapnia and congestive heart failure. Tracheostomy was the recommended treatment and, though it could be life-saving, post-operative complications in the stoma were frequent in these very obese and short-necked individuals.
The management of obstructive sleep apnea was revolutionized with the introduction of continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP), first described in 1981 by Colin Sullivan and associates in Sydney, Australia. The first models were bulky and noisy but the design was rapidly improved and by the late 1980s CPAP was widely adopted. The availability of an effective treatment stimulated an aggressive search for affected individuals and led to the establishment of hundreds of specialized clinics dedicated to the diagnosis and treatment of sleep disorders. Though many types of sleep problems are recognized, the vast majority of patients attending these centers have sleep disordered breathing.
Prevalence and costs in the USA
It is estimated that 20 million Americans are affected by sleep apnea. That would represent more than 6.5%, or nearly 1 in 15 Americans, making sleep apnea as prevalent as asthma or diabetes. It is also estimated that 85-90 percent of individuals affected are undiagnosed and untreated. The Wisconsin Sleep Cohort Study found that, among the middle-aged, nine percent of women and 24 percent of men had sleep apnea.
The costs of untreated sleep apnea reach further than just health issues. It is estimated that the average untreated sleep apnea patient's health care costs $1,336 more than an individual without sleep apnea. If approximations are correct, 17 million untreated individuals account for $22,712 million,or almost 23 billion in health care costs.
Obstructive sleep apnea
Main article: Obstructive sleep apneaObstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is the most common category of sleep-disordered breathing. The muscle tone of the body ordinarily relaxes during sleep and at the level of the throat the human airway is composed of collapsible walls of soft tissue which can obstruct breathing during sleep. Mild, occasional sleep apnea, such as many people experience during an upper respiratory infection, may not be important, but chronic, severe obstructive sleep apnea requires treatment to prevent low blood oxygen (hypoxemia), sleep deprivation, and other complications. The most serious complication is a severe form of congestive heart failure called cor pulmonale .
Individuals with low muscle tone and soft tissue around the airway (e.g., due to obesity), and structural features that give rise to a narrowed airway are at high risk for obstructive sleep apnea. The elderly are more likely to have OSA than young people. Men are more typical sleep apnea sufferers than women and children, although it is not uncommon in the latter two.
The risk of OSA rises with increasing body weight, active smoking and age. In addition, patients with diabetes or “borderline” diabetes have up to three times the risk of having OSA.
Common symptoms include loud snoring, restless sleep, and sleepiness during the daytime. Diagnostic tests include home oximetry or polysomnography in a sleep clinic.
Some treatments involve lifestyle changes, such as avoiding alcohol or muscle relaxants, losing weight, and quitting smoking. Many people benefit from sleeping at a 30 degree elevation of the upper body or higher, as if in a recliner. Doing so helps prevent the gravitational collapse of the airway. Lateral positions (sleeping on a side), as opposed to supine positions (sleeping on the back), are also recommended as a treatment for sleep apnea, largely because the gravitational component is smaller in the lateral position. Some people benefit from various kinds of oral appliances to keep the airway open during sleep. "Breathing machines" like the continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) may help. There are also surgical procedures to remove and tighten tissue and widen the airway.
Symptoms, signs and sequelae
As already mentioned, snoring is a common finding in people with this syndrome. Snoring is the turbulent sound of air moving through the back of the mouth, nose, and throat. Although not everyone who snores is experiencing difficulty breathing, snoring in combination with other conditions such as overweight and obesity has been found to be highly predictive of OSA risk. The loudness of the snoring is not indicative of the severity of obstruction, however. If the upper airways are tremendously obstructed, there may not be enough air movement to make much sound. Even the loudest snoring does not mean that an individual has sleep apnea syndrome. The sign that is most suggestive of sleep apneas occurs if snoring stops . If it does, along with breath, while the persons' chest and body tries to breathe - that is literally a description of an event in obstructive sleep apnea syndrome. When breathing starts again, there is typically a deep gasp, and then the resumption of snoring.
Other indicators include (but are not limited to): hypersomnolence, obesity BMI >30, large neck circumference (16” or 38 cm in women, 17” or 43.5 cm in men), enlarged tonsils and large tongue volume, micrognathia, morning headaches, irritability/mood-swings/depression, learning and/or memory difficulties, and sexual dysfunction.
The term "sleep disordered breathing" is commonly used in the US to describe the full range of breathing problems during sleep in which not enough air reaches the lungs (hypopnea and apnea). Sleep disordered breathing is associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular disease, stroke, high blood pressure, arrhythmias, diabetes, and sleep deprived driving accidents. When high blood pressure is caused by OSA, it is distinctive in that, unlike most cases of high blood pressure (so-called essential hypertension), the readings do not drop significantly when the individual is sleeping. Stroke is associated with obstructive sleep apnea. Sleep apnea sufferers also have a 30% higher r
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