Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA)
Symptoms:
Loud or irregular snoring, pauses in breathing (apnea), excessive daytime
sleepiness and frequent urination at night are all symptoms of obstructive
sleep apnea.
Cause:
During sleep, the muscles in the throat become relaxed, allowing the airway
to close when trying to breathe.
Who is affected?
OSA can affect persons of any age, but is commonly associated with aging,
excess weight, or a recessed jaw, among other factors.
Health Risks:
Obstructive sleep apnea is a fairly common problem and can have serious health
risks. High blood pressure, heart disease, stroke, and increased risk of automobile
and industrial accidents due to sleepiness are all caused by untreated sleep
apnea.
Diagnosis:
Diagnosis of sleep apnea is complex because there can be many different reasons
for disturbed sleep. Several tests are available for evaluating a person for
sleep apnea. One such test, polysomnography, records a variety of body functions
during sleep, including electrical activity of the brain, eye movement, muscle
activity, heart rate, respiratory effort, air flow and blood oxygen levels.
This information is used to diagnose sleep apnea and to determine its severity.
Treatment:
Non-surgical:
Behavioral changes are an important part of the treatment program. Individuals
should avoid the use of alcohol, tobacco and sleeping pills, all of which
make the airway more likely to collapse during sleep, prolonging the apneic
periods.
Nasal Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (nCPAP) is the most common effective treatment for sleep apnea and requires the patient to wear a mask over the nose during sleep. Individually calibrated pressure from an air blower blows air through the nasal passages, preventing the throat from collapsing during sleep. The pressure is constant and prevents airway closure while in use, but apnea episodes return when CPAP is stopped or used improperly.
Variations of the CPAP device attempt to minimize side effects that sometimes occur, including nasal irritation and drying, facial skin irritation, abdominal bloating, mask leaks, sore eyes and headaches. Some versions of CPAP vary the pressure to coincide with the person's breathing pattern and others start with low pressure, slowly increasing it to allow the person to fall asleep before the full prescribed pressure is applied.
Surgical:
Some patients with sleep apnea may require surgery. Although several different
surgical procedures are commonly used to increase the size of the airway,
none of them are completely successful or without risks. More than one procedure
may be needed before the patient experiences improvement.
Some of the more common procedures to correct structural deformities include removal of adenoids and tonsils (especially in children), nasal polyps or other growths or tissue in the airway. Younger patients seem to benefit from these surgical procedures more than older patients.
Uvulopalatopharyngoplasty (UPPP) is a procedure used to remove excess tissue at the back of the throat (tonsils, uvula and part of the soft palate). The success of this technique may range from 30 to 50 percent. The long-term side effects are not known and it is difficult to predict which patients will benefit from this procedure.
This site is presented for information only and is not intended as a
substitute for professional medical advice.
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