Many people suffer from sleep apnea and may not even know that they have the disorder. It's a common disorder that is not often diagnosed, a regular doctor's visit or blood test can detect it. Sleep apnea is diagnosed by a sleep specialist as recommended by one's primary care physician if symptoms are detected.
When an individual has sleep apnea, it means that they have more shallow breaths while they sleep. The person is unaware that they have these pauses in breathing because they are asleep and usually a family member or spouse will recognize the peculiar breathing pattern. The pauses in breath may last a few seconds or a few minutes and within an hour, can occur 30 or more times.
This chronic disorder affects an individual's quality of sleep, causing them to be tired and groggy during the day. Excessive daytime sleepiness is caused by sleep apnea since the disorder disrupts a person's sleeping pattern.
When a person has sleep apnea, they often move out of a state of deep sleep and into light sleep. This occurs because of the shifts from normal breathing to shallow breathing. A loud snort or choking sound sometimes accompanies the transition to normal sleeping. Sleep apnea can affect anyone, adults and children of any age.
Other risk factors are having a family history of sleep apnea, being male, being overweight, and having large tonsils or a large tongue. People with nasal obstructions due to a deviated septum, allergies, or sinus problems are especially at risk.
There are two types of sleep apnea, obstructive and central; the most common form is obstructive sleep apnea. It can affect anyone, but is more common among overweight people. In obstructive sleep apnea the airway becomes blocked during sleep and cause shallow breathing or pauses in breathing. Loud snoring occurs when air attempts to squeeze past the blockage when the individual tries to breathe.
The less common form of sleep apnea is central sleep apnea which occurs when correct signals are not being sent from the area of the brain that controls breathing and sends signals to the breathing muscles. There will be periods where the individual makes no effort to breathe since the breathing signals were not sent. Central sleep apnea is more common among people with certain medical conditions or people who take certain kind of medication, but can affect anyone.
Untreated sleep apnea can increase the risk of high blood pressure, heart attack, stroke, obesity, and diabetes. It can also increase of worsen heart failure, a condition where the heart is unable to pump enough blood to parts of the body or fill up with enough blood. Sleep apnea increases the chance of a person to develop arrhythmias, or irregular heartbeats.
Mental health issues like depression can be a result of sleep apnea and it can also worsen attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). The excessive daytime sleepiness that sleep apnea causes can also increase the chances of an individual having driving accidents or even a work related injury. For more information about sleep apnea and symptoms, visit the National, Lung, Blood and Heart Institute.
