What is obstructive sleep apnea? What causes the condition?

Posted by Marry Grover on August 3rd, 2022

Obstructive sleep apnea is a rest disorder that disrupts your sleep. If left untreated, it is a serious health issue that might cause complications like blood pressure and heart trouble. In the short term, the sleep problem can make you feel exhausted and cause daytime tiredness. The condition can affect anyone but typically develops in older and overweight people. For those interested in knowing more about this illness and the reasons responsible for the disease, more information is listed below. Have a look!

What is obstructive sleep apnea?

Sleep apnea is a disorder where the person’s rest gets interrupted during the night. In this condition, the patient experiences a pause in breathing several times while resting. The episodes go unnoticed as the individual generally doesn’t remember them after getting up in the morning. But, they may repeatedly happen, sometimes hundreds of times in one night. The sleep disorder is serious because if it is not treated, it can cause several health problems like hypertension, stroke, heart failure, cardiomyopathy, diabetes, and heart attacks. In addition, untreated sleep apnea may also cause work-related accidents, job impairment, and underperformance at school.

What are the types of sleep apnea?

Mainly sleep apnea is of two types:

Obstructive sleep apnea: People suffering from this problem experience repetitive episodes of partial or complete blockage while resting. What happens in OSA is that during an apneic episode, the diaphragm and chest muscles work hard, and the pressure builds up to open up the airway. Then, the breathing suddenly resumes with a body jerk or gasp. These episodes sometimes interfere with deep sleep and may cause heart rhythm irregularities.

1. Central sleep apnea:

In this condition, the patient observes issues with breathing because the brain fails to trigger the respiratory muscles to perform their action. Here, the breathing problems are related to the function of the central nervous system.

What causes sleep apnea?

OSA is caused because of the blockage in the airway that results from the collapse of the soft tissues in the rear of the throat. On the other, CSA happens because of central nervous system dysfunction. It is common in patients with a stroke, neuromuscular problems, heart problems, or lung diseases.

What are the symptoms of sleep apnea?

People often get diagnosed with sleep apnea because their bed partner observes symptoms. Some of these signs that are commonly observed in OSA patients are:

• Night sweats

• Snoring

• Daytime sleepiness or fatigue

• Dry mouth or sore throat

• Cognitive impairment

• Mood disturbances

• Sexual dysfunction

• Headaches

• Sudden awakenings
  
  

Who gets sleep apnea?

Although sleep apnea can affect anyone, certain people are more at risk of developing this problem. These include:

• The condition mainly develops in men.

• It affects people of all ages, including babies and children

• People with excessive weight are more at risk of developing this problem

• It is more common in people who are above 50.

• People with a large neck are at risk of developing sleep apnea.

Sleep apnea is a disorder that can disrupt your sleep and cause complications like stroke, BP, and diabetes. Thus treating it asap is vital.