WHAT IS CENTRAL SLEEP APNEA?

Types of Sleep Apnea-Central And Mixed Apnea

Central Sleep Apnea

Central Apnea is when you repeatedly stop breathing while sleeping because the brain temporarily stops sending signals to the muscles that control breathing.

It occurs when the airway is NOT blocked, but the brain fails to signal the muscles to breathe because there is an underlying problem with the nerves that control the breathing problem which comes from the brain, and not from the upper airway.

So...even if you don't have an obstruction of the upper airway, you can still have this disorder.

How do you breathe while sleeping with CSA syndrome?

A person with this disorder has issues with the respiratory center from the brain. This center controls the chest muscles to make breathing movements. When the respiratory center stops working, then your breathing stops, too. The brain does not respond to the changes of the respiratory gas levels from the blood (oxygen and carbon dioxide).

In CSA, you stop breathing while sleeping for a period of time (at least 10 seconds), but there is no effort to breathe at all, like in OSA. Therefore, snoring is not present in central apnea.

Typically, you will wake up several times at night, often with the sensation of gasping or choking. If this waking up episode is frequent enough to cause disruption and making you restless during snooze, then you may feel very tired during daytime.

Causes of CSA:

The cause of this particular disorder is unknown, but there are risk factors that can influence the development, such as:

    * Age

    * Gender - There is an increased prevalence in the elderly

    * Sleep State

    * Thyroid Disease

    * Neurological or Cardio-logical abnormalities

    * Narcolepsy

It is often seen in people with panic about falling asleep. They breathe quickly which results in low levels of carbon dioxide in the blood. This is a problem. When they fall asleep, the breathing reflex fails to start, because of the low levels of carbon dioxide.

Nevertheless, central apnea is most commonly seen in persons with neurological disorders that affect the control center of respiration, such as:

    * Lesions of the brain stem

    * Cardiovascular disorders

    * Cerebral vascular disease

    * Lesions of the spinal cord

CSA can also occur in infants who are prematurely born. Such symptoms generally disappear in the first six months of age. However, there is an increased risk for Sudden Infant Death Syndrome in infants who suffer from CSA.

The snoring is less common in central apnea, but it may be a symptom of mixed sleep apnea. In children, its syndrome is usually accompanied by a change in their facial color, such as a bluish or purplish skin, and they may also a change in their muscle tone like a limp body.

The long-term effects of CSA disorder are:

    * Abnormal heart rhythm.

    * Heart failure.

    * Lung complications.

    * Enlargement of the heart.

Mixed Sleep Apnea

As the name implies, it is the combination of the two types of apnea Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA) and Central Sleep Apnea (CSA). All three types of apnea cause sleep deprivation and oxygen deprivation.

Overview of OSA

Types of Sleep Apnea-Obstructive Sleep Apnea-OSA

Obstructive Sleep Apnea:

OSA occurs when air is physically blocked from entering the lungs during sleeping. When we are sleeping all our body parts relaxes and rest so the muscles of the upper respiratory tract (nose, mouth, pharynx and larynx) also relaxes but if they relaxed too much they collapses the air way. People with OSA have an airway that is more narrow than normal, usually at the base of the tongue and palate. When lying flat, the palate is above the air passage. When the pharyngeal muscles (muscles of the pharynx or throat)

A person who has obesity and is overweight is more likely to have this disorder. In male prevalence of OSA is three times higher women. The reasons are related to hormonal influence. Gender differences in the prevalence of OSA may also be related to body fat distribution. Men exhibit a more central fat distribution, including the neck, thereby increasing the risk for narrowing and closure of the upper airway. Postmenopausal women are at higher risk for obstructive apnea. This disorder is more common in African-Americans and Hispanics.

Numerous studies have shown correlations between the prevalence of OSA syndrome and obesity. Men and women with large neck sizes: 17 inches or more for men and 16 inches or more for women.

Although obesity is the most common cause of OSA, it also occurs in non-obese patients. 

Causes of OSA:

• Narrowing of the hard palate
• Nasal abnormalities including septal deviation and allergic rhinitis.
• Children with large tonsils and adenoids.
• People with Down Syndrome.
• Increasing age - when you become older, there is an increased risk to get a sleep disorder.
• Having this disorder genetically.

Evidence is accumulating that genetic factors may be involved in the pathogenesis of apnea disorder. The risk factors arise from changes to upper airway structure alteration in craniofacial structures.

Enlargement of important upper airway structures (tongue, soft palate, and lateral pharyngeal walls). Drugs, such as narcotics, benzodiazepines and alcohol.

Macroglossia associated with hypothyroidism contributes to the higher frequency of sleep disordered breathing.

Sleep apnea syndrome is more common and often severe in acromegalic patients (a chronic disease marked by enlargement of the bones of the extremities, face, and jaw) presumably related to a large tongue narrowing the upper airway.

Smoking - decrease the amount of oxygen in your blood and with alcohol reduces the upper airway tone relax the palate can fall backwards and this can obstruct the airway risk factors of obstructive sleep apnea.

Are you tired of being Sleepy?

You're tired of being tired all the time. Days go by in a blur. You wake up foggy-headed, probably cranky. You survive the day with lots of caffeine. Chronically fatigued, falling asleep during the day - sometimes in embarrassing places.

And you suffer because you haven't managed to conquer your sleep apnea. But that's not from a lack of trying. You've asked your doctor what you can do to cure your sleep apnea. His only suggestion is the dreaded CPAP.

In his research, he talked to a lot of people who suffer from this disorder. Many are struggling to find a way to cure their apnea and THROW AWAY their CPAP. But they're not getting much help from their doctors.

Many people have told me that they have been on CPAP for months, with no relief in their AHI (Apnea-Hypopnea Index). It's not just that CPAP is ineffective for some people. CPAP users suffer countless problems when using the machine. Here's just a few of the problems people have with CPAP:

• Headache
• Ear pressure
• Nasal congestion
• Dry mouth
• Sinus problems
• Claustrophobia

I know what you're thinking at this point. You're asking yourself "why is it so important to cure this disorder - I just want to get a better night's sleep so I don't feel so groggy during the day. Can't I just take some pills so I can get a better night's sleep and get on with my life?"

The fact is, sleep apnea can KILL YOU eventually. And I'm not just talking about the much higher chance that you'll be in a car crash if you have apnea (although that's definitely a factor). As stated by Dr. Michael J. Twery, director of the National Center on Sleep Disorders Research:

"Sleep apnea is not a condition that kills you acutely. It is a condition that erodes your health over time."

Over time, this disorder has been proven to lead to a long list of nasty diseases.

According to the University of Maryland Medical Center, these are just some of the side effects of sleep apnea:

• High blood pressure
• Eye disorders, including glaucoma, conjunctivitis, and dry eye
• Irregular menstrual periods
• High-risk pregnancies
• Liver damage
• Seizures, epilepsy, and other nerve disorders
• Diabetes
• Kidney failure
• Stroke
• Heart failure

Bear in mind that 95% of the people who suffer from sleep apnea will continue to suffer with CPAP. But I don't think you would have read this far if you were the type of person to follow the crowd.



Click here to learn more about Sleep Apnea Relief

WHAT IS SLEEP APNEA DISORDER?

Sleep Apnea is a common physiological disorder characterized by reduction of breathing during sleep. Breathing pauses lasts from 10-20 seconds they often occur 5-30 times an hour while you sleep and then normal breathing starts again.                                                                                                                                                         

Apnea means a period of time in which breathing is stopped or markedly reduced. It is a chronic condition that disrupts your nap you often move out of deep sleep and into light sleep when your breathing pauses this results in poor sleep quality that makes you tired throughout the day and it is one of the major causes of excessive daytime sleepiness.

This condition is common in adults and is often related to obesity. In children common causes of this disorder is Tonsillitis (a condition in which children have enlarged tonsils tissues in their throats) in many cases usually people don't know that they have a disorder because it occurs only in sleep so the diagnosis of this disorder is little complicated.

Symptoms:

• Extremely loud snoring.
• Choking.      
• Loud pauses in breathing 
• Day time sleepiness no matter how much time you on bed
• Waking up with dry mouth.
• Morning headaches.
• Restlessness.
  
• Insomnia.
• Going to bathroom frequently during night.
• Forgetfulness.  
• Difficulty in concentrating.
• Irritability.
• Depression.
• Fatigue.
• Difficulty performing work.
• Anxiety.
  
• Emotional problems.
• Social problems.
• Difficulty in learning new tasks.
• Sexual dysfunction.                                                                                     

Types of Apnea:

There are three types of apnea:

1. Obstructive.
2. Central.
3. Mixed.

Are You Having a Good Sleep ?