CPAP MASK

Apnea is a Greek word that means “without breath.”  Literally.  The  three types of apnea are obstructive, central and mixed.  Obstructive sleep apnea is by far the most common of these three.  Though these types have their differences, the similaity between them is that, if left untreated, people with any type of sleep apnea may stop breathing when they sleep many, many times.  I have seen indexes as high as 100 times per hour.  And I have seen it more than once.

Obstructive sleep apnea, also called OSA, is an obstruction in the airway.  It usually happens when soft tissue collapses in the back of the throat when a person is relaxed during sleep.

Central sleep apnea is not caused by a blockage in the airway.  It happens when the brain doesn’t send a message to the muscles that they need to breathe.

As you might have guessed, mixed apnea is a combination of obstructive and central sleep apnea.  It is treated more closely to obstructive sleep apnea, however.  In all of these disorders sleep is typically very fragmented and of very poor quality.

The National Institute of Health states that sleep apnea, which is as common as Type 2 diabetes, affects more than twelve million people in the United States.  Some risk factors are obesity, being of the male gender and being over the age of forty.  But sleep apnea can affect anyone, even very young children.  There is still much unawareness regarding sleep apnea in the general public and even among healthcare professionals.  So many people remain undiagnosed and, ultimately, untreated.  This is unfortunate since sleep apnea can have very serious health consequences if left untreated.

These consequences may include hypertension (high blood pressure), stroke, weight gain, psychological problems, headaches and cardiovascular disease.  In addition, if left untreated, sleep apnea impairs your ability to operate a motor vehicle and may be responsible for preventable crashes.

The good news is that sleep apnea can be diagnosed and treated very effectively.  There are numerous treatment options.  Your family physician should be able to refer you to a sleep specialist or he may be able to order a test for sleep apnea himself.  Research continues into better treatment options.