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Introducing sleep apnea -

Sleep apnea is a serious sleep condition that causes you to stop and start breathing while you sleep. If it goes untreated it can cause serious health problems.

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The most common symptom - A common symptom of sleep apnea is exceptionally loud snoring. In many cases it is this symptom that prompts a person with sleep apnea to see a doctor.

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Snoring - Of course, snoring is common. It can be caused by nose or throat conditions, being overweight, or even sleep style (sleeping on your back makes you more likely to snore, for example).

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Other symptoms -

People with sleep apnea, however, often snore much, much louder than normal. They may also gasp or choke, and they often sleep restlessly.

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Statistics -

Research suggests sleep apnea is a lot more common than we might think: according to the American Academy of Sleep Medicine, it could affect up to 12% of US adults.

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The undiagnosed -

As many as 80% of sufferers go undiagnosed. Many people don’t know they have apnea, because it only occurs during sleep.

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Three types of sleep apnea -

There are three different types of sleep apnea, and they all have slightly different symptoms. The most common type is obstructive sleep apnea.

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Obstructive sleep apnea -

Obstructive sleep apnea occurs when your airways become blocked while you sleep, usually because the soft tissue at the back of your throat has collapsed.

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What happens -

While your airways are blocked, your diaphragm and chest muscles have to work extremely hard to open them. This can prompt loud gasps or jerking movements.

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Central sleep apnea - The second type is central sleep apnea. This does not involve blocked airways; instead, your brain does not tell you to breathe because of problems in your respiratory control center.

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Risk group -

Central sleep apnea is more common in people with serious health conditions, in particular people who suffer from a neuromuscular disease, such as ALS.

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Complex sleep apnea -

The third type of apnea is complex sleep apnea, which is diagnosed when someone suffers from both obstructive sleep apnea and central sleep apnea.

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Noticing the symptoms -

Most people do not notice their first symptoms of sleep apnea, because they are asleep. More often it is their partner that alerts them to the symptoms.

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Cocktail of symptoms -

Common symptoms include snoring, restlessness while sleeping, and fatigue during the day. Sufferers may also experience headaches and mood disorders.

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Insomnia for central sleep apnea sufferers -

People with central sleep apnea usually report waking up a lot during the night, otherwise known as insomnia. People with either type may choke themselves awake.

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Symptoms in children -

Symptoms may be less obvious in children, but they include sweating a lot at night, trouble swallowing, and sleepiness, which might be mistaken for laziness at school.

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Step one -

If you go to your doctor with symptoms of sleep apnea, they will normally try to rule out any other potential causes for your symptoms first.

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Medical review -

If there is no other obvious cause for your symptoms, the doctor will usually review your medical history and order tests to find out what is going on.

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Sleep study -

If, on the basis of their findings, the doctor suspects you have sleep apnea, they may refer you to a sleep specialist for a sleep study.

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Purpose of the study -

The purpose of the sleep study, which can be done at home, is to determine, among other things, whether your breathing stops or slows down while you are asleep.

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Diagnosis -

Based on the number of sleep apnea events you had in an hour of the study, the doctor may diagnose you with mild, moderate, or severe sleep apnea.

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Further tests -

The doctor may also order further tests to determine whether you have an underlying health condition that could be causing your sleep apnea.

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Varying treatments - If you are diagnosed with sleep apnea, the doctor will recommend treatment depending on the severity of your symptoms. For mild cases, lifestyle changes are often sufficient.

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Lifestyle changes -

For people suffering with mild sleep apnea, it may be a sufficient treatment to lose weight, stop smoking, or find a treatment for nasal allergies.

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CPAP machine -

In more serious cases, the doctor may prescribe a continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) machine to help you regulate your breathing while you sleep.

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Surgery -

If none of these treatments work, your doctor may recommend one of a number of possible surgeries, such as tissue removal, tissue shrinkage, or jaw repositioning.

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Complications -

If it goes untreated, sleep apnea can have serious complications. For starters, it causes daytime fatigue, which in turn makes it more likely for people to have accidents.

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Higher risk of heart attack and stroke -

The drop in blood oxygen levels while you sleep also puts the cardiovascular system under stress. Sufferers are therefore at a higher risk of recurrent heart attacks or stroke.

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Complications after surgery -

Obstructive sleep apnea can cause people to have issues with certain medications or after major surgery because they are more likely to have trouble breathing.

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Impaired liver function -

Finally, sleep apnea has been shown to impact the results of liver function tests. Sleep apnea sufferers have livers that are more likely to show signs of scarring.

Sources: (BBC) (WebMD)

See also: Celebs living with sleep disorders

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