One of the most common health disorders among people around the world is “sleep apnea”. In its simplest sense ‘sleep apnea’ can be understood as one or more pauses in normal breathing. In many cases the shallow breathing during sleep is also termed as ‘sleep apnea’.

A pause in normal breathing during sleep may have an undefined duration. Meaning thereby, the pause could be for a few seconds only or it can even stretch up to few minutes.

Similarly, the rate of occurrence of such pauses during sleep may also vary up to great ranges. It could be five times per hour or even up to 30 times an hour. Normal breathing generally starts immediately after such a pause but this re-start could generate a snoring or choking sound as well.

Once a person is a victim of ‘sleep apnea’ this disorder converts in to a chronic disorder slowly over the years. In majority of the cases people never realize that the ‘sleep apnea disorder’ has crept in their lives. Read the rest of this entry

Snoring can have a major impact on those around you. Half of Americans snore, and the problem becomes more prevalent with an increase in weight and age, but it can occur in all populations—even in children. Not everyone who snores has sleep apnea or another sleeping disorder; however, it is one of the warning signs.

Sleep apnea is a sleep disorder characterized by abnormal pauses in breathing or instances of abnormally low breathing during sleep. Each pause in breathing, or apnea, can last from a few seconds to minutes.

There are three forms of sleep apnea: central sleep apnea, obstructive sleep apnea and mixed sleep apnea, meaning a combination of the first two. In central, breathing is interrupted by a lack of respiratory effort; in obstructive, breathing is interrupted by a physical block to airflow despite respiratory effort, and snoring is common. Read the rest of this entry

Complex sleep apnea syndrome (CompSAS) is a form of sleep apnea specifically identified by the presence or emergence of central apneas or hypopneas upon exposure to continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) or a Bi-level positive airway pressure (BIPAP) device when obstructive events have disappeared.

These patients have predominantly obstructive sleep apnea or mixed sleep apnea during the diagnostic sleep study occurring at greater than or equal to 5 times per hour. Read the rest of this entry

Philips  Respironics introduces BiPAP autoSV Advanced-System One, combining  its SV Advanced algorithm with its System One platform.

“Complex sleep apnea is, in some respects, a mix of obstructive and central sleep apnea, and is probably the least common of the sleep breathing disorders”, says Dr. Dennis Auckley, director, MetroHealth’s Center for Sleep Medicine, associate professor, Case Western Reserve University.

According to Dr. Dennis Auckley, this condition is defined based on certain characteristics of a person’s sleep during a sleep study. In complex sleep apnea, there is a diagnosis of OSA during monitored sleep, but then the patient develops a central sleep apnea pattern. In other words, the CPAP is effective at keeping the airway open, but the brain fails to send the signal to breathe.

“The significance of having complex sleep apnea is not entirely clear. It is not known if this represents a different type of sleep apnea or something we see on a single night sleep study that resolves over time” says Dr. Dennis Auckley. Some patients with this condition can be controlled with CPAP, others with bi-level pressure support, and some need the newer type of device called adaptive servo ventilation. Oxygen is not considered a treatment for this condition as it is generally not a treatment for obstructive sleep apnea, he adds.

Sleep disorders are becoming more and more common every year. In fact, there are millions of Americans who have at least one of these disorders. The most frequent sleep disorders are insomnia and snoring; however, the most dangerous disorder is sleep apnea. Sleep apnea occurs when a person stops breathing during the night for lapses of one minute. 

There are three kinds of sleep apnea: obstructive sleep apnea, central sleep apnea and mixed sleep apnea. Obstructive sleep apnea occurs when there is an obstruction of the airway passages of your body. On the other hand, Central sleep apnea means that the airway passages are not blocked; instead, the brain is not able to properly control the muscles involved in breathing. Finally, mixed sleep apnea is a case when the two mentioned cases are combined.  Read the rest of this entry

Sleep apnea is a sleep disorder is defined by brief interruptions of breathing while you are asleep. This is a very serious condition, because it can result in high blood pressure, heart problems and stroke.

Signs and Symptoms of Sleep Apnea

The warning signs and symptoms of sleep apnea include: Read the rest of this entry

One of the most common health disorders among people around the world is “sleep apnea”. In its simplest sense ‘sleep apnea’ can be understood as one or more pauses in normal breathing. In many cases the shallow breathing during sleep is also termed as ‘sleep apnea’.

A pause in normal breathing during sleep may have an undefined duration. Meaning thereby, the pause could be for a few seconds only or it can even stretch up to few minutes.

Similarly, the rate of occurrence of such pauses during sleep may also vary up to great ranges. It could be five times per hour or even up to 30 times an hour. Normal breathing generally starts immediately after such a pause but this re-start could generate a snoring or choking sound as well. Read the rest of this entry