Sleep Apnea Essay Research Paper leep Apnea

Sleep Apnea Essay, Research Paper

leep Apnea is a disorder that causes the

cessation of breathing during sleep. There are three

types of Apnea: Obstructive, Central, and

Mixed. The most common type of apnea is Obstructive

Sleep Apnea (OSA). The individual suffering from OSA

may stop breathing hundreds of times during the night for

more than a minute at a time. The word Apnea

literally means with out breath in Greek.(1) Like all muscles in the body while sleeping, the soft palate and tongue muscles relax, and end up collapsing causes the airflow to become restricted. For some one who is observing an OSA sufferer they hear heavy broken snoring. “The potential consequences of obstructive sleep apnea are significant and include hypertension, coronary heart disease, myocardial infarction, pulmonary hypertension, congestive hear failure, stroke, neuropsychiatric problems, cognitive impairment, sexual dysfunctions, and injury due to accidents. Finally the Commission estimates that cardiovascular deaths attributable to obstructive sleep apnea alone may be as high as 38,000 annually.” (2)

eople that suffer from OSA have a very distinct sleeping pattern. This cycle may repeat itself over a hundred times an hour.

+ You fall asleep.

+ The muscles in your throat as well as the rest of your body relax.

+ The relaxed muscles allow the air passage in your throat to constrict or collapse in upon itself. Air flow is restricted or blocked.

+ The restricted air flow causes labored breathing accented by loud snoring or snorts. A complete closure may be the cause of pauses in breathing rhythm.

+ The amount of oxygen in your bloodstream begins to drop. Your body is continuing to use it, but it is not being replaced by breathing. The carbon dioxide level in the bloodstream begins to rise.

+ You continue sleep, struggling for air. This struggle may last 10,20,40 seconds between breaths.

+ Your pulse (heart rate) slows.

A center in your brain detects the altered blood chemistry (i.e. high carbon dioxide, low oxygen). This state is called hypoxia.

In order to prevent suffocation, the brain triggers a release of a chemical messenger, adrenalin. This chemical shocks the consciousness centers of the brain and causes a partial awakening.

+

+ The awakening causes the muscles to open the airway, the heart rate races in response to the adrenalin and causes a spike in blood pressure.

+ Several breaths are taken, blowing off the carbon dioxide and restoring oxygen to the blood. The blood chemistry returns to near normal.

+ The brain allows you to return to sleep.

+ The cycle repeats. (3)

he most typical sufferers of OSA are middle aged, obese men. The occurrence of sleep apnea is a common as adult diabetes. The National Institute for Health notes that that as many as 18 million Americans have sleep apnea. The NIH also states that, in the US, 4% of the adult middle-aged male population and 2% of the adult middle-aged female population are affected with OSA to the point where it causes problems with daytime sleepiness. (4) A study of 400 men & women aged 40 – 65 in Busselton, WA revealed that 10% of the men and 7% of the women had Respiratory Disturbance Index (RDI’s) >10. (5)

THE BED PARTNERS OF PEOPLE WITH SLEEP APNEA FREQUENTLY REPORT:

+ “JACKHAMMER” SNORING

+ PAUSES IN BREATHING, FOLLOWED BY GASPING TO GET AIR

+ FREQUENT MOVEMENT IN BED

THE PEOPLE WITH SLEEP APNEA FREQUENTLY REPORT:

+ EXCESSIVE DAYTIME SLEEPINESS

+ MORNING HEADACHES

+ POOR ABILITY TO CONCENTRATE

+ A DESIRE TO FALL ASLEEP WHILE PERFORMING MUNDANE TASKS, LIKE SITTING AT TRAFFIC LIGHTS

+ A SENSE OF CHOKING (A NUMBER OF PEOPLE HAD DREAMS ABOUT BEING CHOKED)

eople that suffer from OSA face many different medical problems. It is much more than annoying snoring. The most serious problems that they can face is the increased risk of strokes, cardiac arrest, and other serious heart conditions. A team at Sleep Disorders Center of the University of Iowa, Iowa City, led by Mark Eric Dyken, M.D conducted research on 24 people who recently had a stroke, and 27 control patients . “There was a strikingly higher incidence of moderate to severe obstructive sleep apnea, compared to age- and sex-matched controls,” the team reports. Ten of 13 male (77%) and 7 of 11 female (64%) stroke patients had sleep apnea, compared to only 3 of 13 men (23%) and 2 of 14 women (14%) without stroke. (6) Within the study half of the stroke patients were suffering with OSA. After a four- year follow up of these patients, 3 men, and 2 women died. 4 of the 5 of these patients had their strokes while they were sleeping, and they all suffered from OSA. The reason that OSA and strokes are believed to be linked is that “hypoxemia (low blood oxygen levels) and autonomic (nerve) responses associated with obstructive sleep apnea may produce acute and chronic changes that predispose patients not only to hypertension and cardiovascular disease but also to stroke.” (6)

Sleep apnea is has also been linked to high blood pressure, weight gain, decreased mental faculties, sexual problems, and psychological problems including depression. Sleep apnea has als

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