Sleep Apnea And Snoring

The word apnea in the term sleep apnea derives from the Greek term for absence of breathing. That, in a nutshell, gives a sense of how dangerous sleep apnea can be; it literally refers to a condition where breathing stops during sleep.

1) Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA) - This most common form of apnea occurs when throat muscles relax.

2) Central Sleep Apnea - This form of apnea occurs when the brain fails to send proper signals to the muscles that control breathing.

Sleep apnea and snoring are directly linked because during snoring the airway of the trachea is constantly subjected to repetitive collapse and obstruction; in fact, it is that collapse and obstruction that leads to the vibration that, ultimately, manifests itself as audible snoring. Obstructive Sleep Apnea thus occurs when, due to that continuous collapse of the airway, breathing actually stops.

Although Obstructive Sleep Apnea occurs two to three times as often in older male adults, it can affect young or old, male or female. Even children can have sleep apnea, a problem more common than once thought.

Obesity & excess weight (leading to an enlarged neck and excess soft tissue in the trachea)

Enlarged adenoids and/or tonsils (airway can become blocked when tonsils or adenoids are too large)

Sex and age (older men are more likely to suffer from sleep apnea than women are)

While death is obviously possible due to Obstructive Sleep Apnea (and subsequent lack of breathing), there are many very serious effects that, while not fatal, are most certainly severe.

Even when it is not fatal, Sleep apnea deprives the body of essential oxygen; and hence, overall blood oxygen levels are reduced and concurrently, carbon dioxide levels rise. This can lead to toxic buildup that can cause heart disease, stroke, and brain damage.
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Latest Sleep Apnea News

Study shows how sleep apnea may cause stroke (Reuters via Yahoo! News)
A dangerous type of snoring known as sleep apnea can cause stroke by decreasing blood flow, raising blood pressure and harming the brain's ability to modulate these changes, researchers reported on Tuesday.

What Is The Connection Between Sleep Apnea, Stroke And Death? (Science Daily)
Obstructive sleep apnea decreases blood flow to the brain, elevates blood pressure within the brain and eventually harms the brain's ability to modulate these changes and prevent damage to itself. The findings may help explain why people with sleep apnea are more likely to suffer strokes and to die in their sleep.

Sleep Apnea Connection to Stroke and Death Explained by New Study (Senior Journal)
Jan. 6, 2009 –Obstructive sleep apnea decreases blood flow to the brain, elevates blood pressure within the brain and eventually harms the brain’s ability to modulate these changes and prevent damage to itself, according to a new study.

Study helps explain connection between sleep apnea, stroke and death (PhysOrg)
Obstructive sleep apnea decreases blood flow to the brain, elevates blood pressure within the brain and eventually harms the brain's ability to modulate these changes and prevent damage to itself, according to a new study published by The American Physiological Society. The findings may help explain why people with sleep apnea are more likely to suffer strokes and to die in their sleep.

Factors Other Than Central Sleep Apnea May Contribute To Poor Sleep Quality In Heart-Failure Patients (Medical News Today)
A study in the Jan. 1 issue of the journal Sleep demonstrates that the frequent arousals from sleep that occur in heart failure patients with central sleep apnea (CSA) may reflect the presence of another underlying arousal disorder rather than being a defensive mechanism to terminate apneas.

Diabetics face sleep apnea risk (Detroit Free Press)
Here's a wake-up call to the millions of American men and women with Type 2 diabetes: Snoring at night or nodding off during the day may be symptoms of obstructive sleep apnea, a potentially life-threatening problem affecting one out of three diabetics.

St. Mary’s opens sleep disorder center (St. Louis Business Journal)
SSM St. Mary’s Health Center has opened a new facility to treat people who suffer from daytime sleepiness, insomnia, sleep apnea, restless legs syndrome and other sleep disorders.

Study Says Lack of Sleep Adds Plaque to Heart (ThirdAge)
MILWAUKEE, Wis. -- People in their 30s and 40s who got less sleep at night were more likely to develop the early buildup of plaque in the arteries of their heart , according to a new study.

CPAP's Future in an iPod World (PRWeb via Yahoo! News)
Metis Laboratories announces the PapWear(TM) system, a paradigm shift away from the current sleep apnea systems marketed by Respironics (PHG), ResMed (RMD), Fisher Paykel Healthcare (FPH), et al.

Going to the 'sleep nerd'; Technologist helps diagnose sleep disorders (Casper Star-Tribune)
GILLETTE -- Mark Beil has received a family heirloom that he could do without. They call it "the Beil Nose."