Ads
related to: sleep apnea wikipedia
Search results
Results From The WOW.Com Content Network
Sleep apnea (sleep apnoea or sleep apnœa in British English) is a sleep-related breathing disorder in which repetitive pauses in breathing, periods of shallow breathing, or collapse of the upper airway during sleep results in poor ventilation and sleep disruption.
Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is the most common sleep-related breathing disorder and is characterized by recurrent episodes of complete or partial obstruction of the upper airway leading to reduced or absent breathing during sleep.
The conditions of hypoxia and hypercapnia, whether caused by apnea or not, trigger additional effects on the body.The immediate effects of central sleep apnea on the body depend on how long the failure to breathe endures, how short is the interval between failures to breathe, and the presence or absence of independent conditions whose effects amplify those of an apneic episode.
Apnea can be involuntary—for example, drug-induced (such as by opiate toxicity), mechanically / physiologically induced (for example, by strangulation or choking), or a consequence of neurological disease or trauma. During sleep, people with severe sleep apnea can have over thirty episodes of intermittent apnea per hour every night. [3]
A sleep-related breathing disorder is a sleep disorder in which abnormalities in breathing occur during sleep that may or may not be present while awake. According to the International Classification of Sleep Disorders, sleep-related breathing disorders are classified as follows: [ 1 ]
Sleep apnea, obstructive sleep apnea, obstruction of the airway during sleep, causing lack of sufficient deep sleep, often accompanied by snoring. Other forms of sleep apnea are less common. [89] Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is a medical disorder that is caused by repetitive collapse of the upper airway (back of the throat) during sleep.