Sleep apnea: symptoms, diagnosis and therapy

What is sleep apnea? 

Sleep apnea is a sleep disorder affecting the upper airway (obstructive sleep apnea, abbreviated OSA) as well as a neurological condition (central sleep apnea). Often underestimated and left untreated, sleep apnoea is a really serious disease with serious consequences for the entire body. OSA is a somnological disorder capable of causing or complicating conditions of heart disease, hypertension, type 2 diabetes mellitus, liver function and many more directly related side conditions. Home treatment for sleep apnea is determined by the type and stage of the disease.

The most common form of the disease is the obstructive type, characterized by frequent breathing stoppages during sleep due to relaxation of the muscles in the back of the throat followed by blockage of the airways. Both men and women can suffer from sleep apnoea.

 

Causes of sleep apnea

Apnea can occur spontaneously, over time (with advancing age or with weight gain), be induced by drugs with tryptamine toxicity, or occur mechanically, due to asphyxia. Yet another cause of the disease is a preceding trauma or neurological disorder.

Among the major risk factors contributing to the development of sleep apnea:

• Obesity;
• Gender (men are twice as prone to developing sleep apnea than women);
• Age;
• Genetic predisposition (inheritance of naturally large tonsils or narrowed throat);
• Anatomical deformities (such as a deviated nasal septum)
• Smoking and alcohol;
• Allergies.

Risk factors for central sleep apnea are: advanced age, gender, heart disorders, use of narcotic pain relievers, and genetic history.

What are the symptoms of obstructive sleep apnea?

The most common symptoms of OSA are:

• Snoring;
• Stopping breathing during sleep (waking up feeling short of breath or short of breath);
• Light and incomplete sleep;
• Frequent getting up at little need;
• Midnight sweats;
• Dry mouth in the morning;
• Morning headache;
• Chronic sleep deprivation;
• Insomnia;
• Lack of energy and concentration during the day. 
• Erectile dysfunction

Sleep apnea in two words

In "two" words: the sleep apnea sufferer has been snoring for many years. His half knows very well what happens at night. He or she hears the loved one not only snoring like a sawmill, but also how their how breathing stops during this snoring. The partner nudges the snorer with their elbow to get him to start breathing again. Sometimes they hears how the sleeper wakes up in the night feeling breathless and with a sense of suffocation. 

The apnea sufferer gets up several times a night out of little need. Or wakes up in the night and not what is the cause of it. They sweat profusely during sleep, especially around the head and neck.

In the morning the person wakes up as if they had not slept at all. He or she gets up with a dry mouth or headache. Their day supposedly begins, but soon after it has begun, they feel sleepy again. 

Later in the day comes a devastating drowsiness. A feeling that they will fall asleep again. The sleep apnea sufferer is at work, but they can barely keep their eyes open. If they lie down for a wee while at home in the afternoon, they fall into deep sleep. And the most dangerous thing: the sleep apnea sufferer tends to falls asleep while driving...

They enter a vicious cycle of weight gain due to sleep deprivation and the body's need to compensate for sleep loss and lack of energy through calories. This compensatory unhealthy sleeping at night daytime hunger in turn only compounds the already present condition. The sleep deprivation becomes more intense, the daytime fatigue more severe. All of this leads not only to an incomplete lifestyle and an incomplete family life, but now also to a danger to one's health.

How is home sleep apnea diagnosis performed?

Home sleep apnea tests are easily performed using screening devices or respiratory polygraphy, or the so-called "sleep apnea holder" . These record breathing effort, snoring and blood oxygen saturation while the patient sleeps. 

The Apnea-Hypopnea Index (AHI) is then determined, which indicates the number of breathing stops for more than 10 seconds on average per hour. If 5 to 30 events per hour are detected, it proves the presence of mild to advanced form of sleep apnea, and if more than 30 stops per hour, the disease is in an extremely advanced stage. Another option for testing for OSA is testing at a sleep clinic, where the patient stays overnight and a specialist sleep technologist monitors them at all times and records their sleep readings using a polysomnograph. 

OSA screening devices are extremely compact and precise, and their analysis data is read and interpreted by sleep medicine specialists. With their help, it is possible to identify the type and severity of apnoea and possibly prescribe follow-up therapy.

What are the side effects of untreated sleep apnea?

If left untreated, sleep apnea can have serious consequences a person's physical and mental state. Untreated sleep apnea in the short term causes severe daytime fatigue, mood swings, so-called "brain fog", lack of concentration and a tendency to fall asleep at the wheel. Long-term consequences include a tendency to develop diabetes, stroke, high blood pressure, cancer, depression and other chronic conditions that can shorten life expectancy.

Unfortunately, sleep apnea is a disease that not only often goes undiagnosed and untreated, but which can lead to extremely serious consequences. Sleep apnea sufferers also pose a serious traffic hazard. Statistics from 2018, for example, indicate that in the previous eight years in Bulgaria, the number of people who lost their lives as a result of falling asleep at the wheel was over five thousand.

If you still have questions about forms of sleep apnea, how to diagnose it and the best treatment for you, feel free to contact Adapt BG and ask

This publication contains general information about sleep apnea disorder and its diagnosis, symptoms and therapy. The publication is not intended to replace professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment of any condition. Information read on the Internet is not medical advice and should not be taken as such.

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