obstructive sleep apnea

Sleep apnea is the term used for periods in which a person temporarily stops breathing while asleep. Obstructive sleep apnea occurs when something is blocking the airway. It is the most common type of sleep apnea.

 

Obstructive sleep apnea occurs when tissue in the upper airways blocks the breathing passages. The blockage may come from a collapsed uvula. The uvula is the soft tissue that hangs down at the back of the throat. Large tonsils or other excess tissue may also block the airway.

 

When the muscles relax during sleep, excess tissue can drop into the air passage and interrupt breathing. The person continues to try to breathe around the blockage but cannot take in enough oxygen. Carbon dioxide builds up in the person's blood. This problem corrects itself as soon as normal breathing is restored.

 

A person may stop breathing a few times or as many as hundreds of times a night. The more episodes that occur per night, the worse the problem. People with this condition often wake slightly to restore their breathing. These episodes disrupt normal sleep, which can result in extreme daytime sleepiness.

 

Other symptoms of obstructive sleep apnea include:

 

Obstructive sleep apnea occurs when the airway is blocked by excess tissue. Seventy percent of individuals with this problem are overweight. Symptoms often improve or go away entirely if some of this excess weight is lost.

Weight management can prevent some cases of obstructive sleep apnea. It may be helpful for people with narrow breathing passages to have their tonsils and adenoids removed.

If a person exhibits symptoms of obstructive sleep apnea, a sleep study, called a polysomnogram (PSG), may be recommended. This test measures the following body functions during sleep: airflow and respiratory effortblood oxygen levelsblood pressure and heart rateelectrical activity in the braineye movementmuscle movement