The Greek word "apnea" literally means "without breath." There are three types of apnea: obstructive, central, and mixed. Obstructive sleep apnea is the most common. People with untreated sleep apnea stop breathing repeatedly during their sleep, sometimes hundreds of times and often for a minute or longer. These periods of lack of breathing, or apneas, are followed by sudden attempts to breathe resulting in fragmented sleep and many times causing excessive daytime sleepiness or insomnia.
Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is caused by a blockage of the airway, usually when the soft tissue in the back of the throat collapses and closes the airway during sleep. In central sleep apnea, the airway is not blocked but the brain fails to signal the lungs to breathe. Mixed apnea, as the name implies, is a combination of obstructive and central sleep apnea.
Sleep apnea is very common, as common as adult diabetes, and affects more than 12 million Americans, according to the National Institutes of Health. Risk factors include being male, overweight, and over the age of 40, but sleep apnea can strike anyone at any age, even children. Because of the lack of awareness by the public and healthcare professionals, the vast majority of sleep apnea patients remain undiagnosed and untreated, despite the fact that this serious disorder can have significant consequences.
Signs and Symptoms of Sleep Apnea:
- Loud snoring
- Witnessed periods of not breathing
- Awakening not rested in the morning
- Abnormal daytime sleepiness, including falling asleep at inappropriate times
- Morning headaches
- Recent weight gain
- Limited attention
- Memory loss
- Poor judgment
- Personality changes
- High blood pressure