imagine if you had trouble breathing 30 times an hour while you were awake, causing you to lose your breath, choke and cough. the condition is called sleep apnea, and it can lead to a range of serious health issues if left untreated. “many of our patients come in because a bed partner or roommate notices snoring and disrupted sleep,” explained dr. sreelatha naik, geisinger sleep physician. “however, many patients are referred to us by cardiologists and other specialists that recognize some of the effects of sleep apnea, such as heart disease and stroke. although you may not know you have sleep apnea — since you’re sleeping or nearly sleeping when it happens — there are some clues that you should watch for: the most common of the two types, obstructive sleep apnea, is caused by a complete or partial blockage of the airway. people with gastroesophageal reflux (gerd), a family history of sleep apnea and nasal obstruction are also at risk.
“recognizing the type of sleep apnea and getting the proper treatment is very important,” said dr. naik. treatment options vary depending on the severity of symptoms and type of sleep apnea. a cpap machine, which delivers air through a mask worn over the nose or mouth to keep the windpipe open when you sleep, is the most effective form of treatment for obstructive sleep apnea. losing weight, changing your sleeping position and practicing good sleep habits are also beneficial. “this may be the result of a more complicated breathing problem than obstructive sleep apnea, which can make it difficult to use a traditional cpap. for this reason, it is extremely important to follow-up with your sleep physician for regular monitoring if you are on a cpap. dr. sreelatha naik, md, is fellowship trained in sleep medicine, pulmonary medicine and critical care.
but if you snore and have sleep apnea, it’s hard on you, too. the consequences include bad sleep and all that can come from that: grogginess when you’re awake, an inability to concentrate, depression, accidents. the herky-jerky breathing of sleep apnea may overtax the heart. far more often, sleep apnea is caused by the fleshy tissues in the back of the mouth — the tongue, tonsils, soft palate — getting in the way of air flow in and out of the throat. obstructive sleep apnea, as it is called, is sometimes a consequence of being overweight: extra fat tissue in the neck area can narrow the airway. if excess weight and extra fat tissue in the neck are the cause of obstructive sleep apnea, then losing weight can ease sleep apnea, even make it go away.
the main treatment for problematic cases of obstructive sleep apnea is continuous positive airway pressure, a term almost always shortened to its acronym, cpap (pronounced see-pap). a hose connects the mask to a small air pump. cpap has been a common treatment for obstructive sleep apnea since the early 1990s. usually sleeping pills and obstructive sleep apnea don’t mix, because sleeping pills tend to relax airway tissue, so they’re even more likely to block the airway. but the results of a study reported in 2009 suggest that giving people a sleeping pill — in this case eszopiclone (lunesta) — for the first two weeks of cpap therapy might help them get used to it and improve compliance later on. the best diets for cognitive fitness, is yours absolutely free when you sign up to receive health alerts from harvard medical school sign up to get tips for living a healthy lifestyle, with ways to fight inflammation and improve cognitive health, plus the latest advances in preventative medicine, diet and exercise, pain relief, blood pressure and cholesterol management, and more. get helpful tips and guidance for everything from fighting inflammation to finding the best diets for weight loss…from exercises to build a stronger core to advice on treating cataracts.
people with apnea often toss and turn and otherwise show signs of restless nighttime sleep. if you find yourself kicking, thrashing, jerking or waking up under central sleep apnea is a serious medical condition. some complications include: fatigue. the repeated awakenings associated with sleep apnea daytime fatigue. the repeated awakenings associated with sleep apnea make normal, restorative sleep impossible, making severe daytime drowsiness, .
though most people view the condition as more severe at night, patients may also have breathing difficulties while awake. the result of these shallow breaths is that there is an increase in carbon dioxide in the blood and a decrease in critically needed oxygen. bradypnea can happen during sleep or when you’re awake. it’s not the same thing as apnea, which is when breathing completely stops. and labored breathing, or shortness of breath, is called dyspnea. snoring loud enough to disturb your sleep or that of others waking up gasping or choking pausing in your breathing during sleep having simply put, having obstructive sleep apnea means that not enough air can get into lungs at night, and your brain wakes you up to breathe, obstructive sleep apnea occurs when the tongue and soft palate block the airway while you’re sleeping. what is sleep apnea? sleep apnea is a, .
When you try to get related information on sleep apnea but awake, you may look for related areas. .