Apnea meaning

Sleep apnea is a disorder that's experienced more often and by more people than one would expect; it causes a person to stop breathing periodically during sleep, normally for around 10 seconds or longer. These 'events' can happen as little as a couple of times during sleep, or more than a hundred times in more severe cases. When a person stops breathing during the night they will wake up, because the brain will be forced to get their body to start breathing again. Learn More About Sleep Apnea and Hypopnea It is found that 2% to 4% of the world's adult population is affected by sleep apnea. Many of the people who experience sleep apnea also develop cognitive dysfunction as well as neuro-behavioral dysfunction. Memory impairment, concentration problems and mood swings are also associated with sleep apnea. Sleep Apnea Can be Experienced in 3 Forms: • Central sleep apnea – Central sleep apnea, in general, is experienced less commonly than obstructive sleep apnea. It happens when the brain fails to signal the breathing muscles. Normally conditions that influence the brain stem can be pointed out as the cause of central sleep apnea. • Obstructive sleep apnea – A complete or partial airway blockage while sleeping is the reason behind obstructive sleep apnea. A person's fatty tissues of the neck or the tongue will fall into the back part of the mouth because during sleep the throat muscles relax. This leads to blocked airflow. • Mixed sleep apnea – This form of sleep apnea consist...

Obstructive sleep apnea Obstructive sleep apnea occurs when the muscles that support the soft tissues in your throat, such as your tongue and soft palate, temporarily relax. When these muscles relax, your airway is narrowed or closed, and breathing is momentarily cut off. Obstructive sleep apnea is the most common sleep-related breathing disorder. It causes you to repeatedly stop and start breathing while you sleep. There are several types of sleep apnea, but the most common is obstructive sleep apnea. This type of apnea occurs when your throat muscles intermittently relax and block your airway during sleep. A noticeable sign of obstructive sleep apnea is snoring. Symptoms Signs and symptoms of obstructive sleep apnea include: • Excessive daytime sleepiness • Loud snoring • Observed episodes of stopped breathing during sleep • Abrupt awakenings accompanied by gasping or choking • Awakening with a dry mouth or sore throat • Morning headache • Difficulty concentrating during the day • Mood changes, such as depression or irritability • High blood pressure • Decreased libido When to see a doctor Consult a medical professional if you have, or if your partner observes, the following: • Snoring loud enough to disturb your sleep or that of others • Waking up gasping or choking • Pausing in your breathing during sleep • Having excessive daytime drowsiness, which may cause you to fall asleep while working, watching television or even driving a vehicle Snoring doesn't necessarily ind...

What Is AHI? The apnea-hypopnea index (AHI) is a scale that tells whether you have a If your doctor thinks you have The sleep tests will tell your doctor how many times each hour you have apnea or hypopnea. What Do the Numbers in the AHI Mean? The AHI is the number of times you have apnea or hypopnea during one night, divided by the hours of • Normal sleep: An AHI of fewer than five events, on average, per hour • Mild • Moderate sleep apnea: An AHI of 15 to 29 events per hour • Severe sleep apnea: An AHI of 30 or more events per hour Children are less likely to have sleep apnea episodes. Most specialists see an AHI above 1 as unusual for them. A child typically needs treatment if their AHI is higher than 5. Treatment After a Moderate or Severe AHI Score If you score moderate or severe on the AHI, you might need to use a Your doctor might also suggest lifestyle changes that will help keep your airways open, like Continued Related Sleep Apnea Testing The respiratory disturbance index (RDI) is similar to AHI. In addition to apneas and hypopneas, it counts the number of times those events disturb your sleep, called respiratory effort-related arousals. A sleep study will also check for low blood oxygen levels, called desaturation. The oxygen desaturation index (ODI) is the number of times your blood oxygen falls for more than 10 seconds, divided by the number of sleep hours. SOURCES: Mayo Clinic: "Sleep Apnea." National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute: "What is Sleep Apnea?" A...

Few sensations are as frightening as not being able to get enough air. Shortness of breath — known medically as dyspnea — is often described as an intense tightening in the chest, air hunger, difficulty breathing, breathlessness or a feeling of suffocation. Very strenuous exercise, extreme temperatures, obesity and higher altitude all can cause shortness of breath in a healthy person. Outside of these examples, shortness of breath is likely a sign of a medical problem.

Sleep apnea is a disorder that causes you to stop breathing while asleep. Your brain tries to protect you by waking you up enough to breathe, but this prevents restful, healthy sleep. Over time, this condition can cause serious complications. However, this condition is often very manageable, especially with close adherence to prescribed treatments. Overview Obstructive sleep apnea occurs when the tongue and soft palate block the airway while you’re sleeping. What is sleep apnea? Sleep apnea is a condition that causes you to stop breathing while you’re sleeping. The word “apnea” comes from the Greek word for “breathless.” Sleep apnea happens because you stop breathing in your sleep. This happens either because of blockage of your airway ( The resulting lack of oxygen activates a survival reflex that wakes you up just enough to resume breathing. While that reflex keeps you alive, it also interrupts your sleep cycle. That prevents restful sleep and can have other effects, including putting stress on your heart that can have potentially deadly consequences. Who does sleep apnea affect? Sleep apnea can happen to anyone, ranging from infants and children to older adults. Obstructive sleep apnea is more common in certain circumstances and groups of people: • Before age 50, it’s more common in men and people assigned male at birth (AMAB). After age 50, it affects women and people assigned female at birth (AFAB) at the same rate. • People are more likely to develop it as they get o...

You may have heard of But you may not be familiar with its cousin, hypopnea. Apnea and hypopnea are different versions of a condition called Types of Hypopnea Apnea and hypopnea are a lot alike but differ in key ways. Hypopnea is when you take in shallow breaths for 10 seconds or longer while asleep and your airflow is at least 30% lower than normal. But your With apnea, your airways are fully obstructed so that you do stop breathing for 10 seconds or more during the night. With either case, you might wake up many times during your Hypopnea has three types: • Central hypopnea, when air flow lessens and breathing slows • Obstructive hypopnea, when only air flow, not breathing, is lowered • Mixed hypopnea, which has periods of both central and obstructive hypopnea Symptoms Hypopnea can cut off your nighttime breathing by a third or more. That means less oxygen gets carried around your body. This can lead to symptoms that are similar to apnea. You may: • Feel unusually sleepy during the day • Snore loudly and awaken from • Lack energy • Have trouble remembering things or paying attention • Feel depressed or irritable Causes Several things can make you more likely to have hypopnea, including: • • Body structure. Some people are born with a small airway. Or your • Age. Hypopnea is more common in people who are middle-aged or older. • Gender. Men are more likely to have hypopnea. • Genetics. If a family member has hypopnea, you may be more likely to have it. • • Continued Diagno...

Overview Sleep apnea is a potentially serious sleep disorder in which breathing repeatedly stops and starts. If you snore loudly and feel tired even after a full night's sleep, you might have sleep apnea. The main types of sleep apnea are: • Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), which is the more common form that occurs when throat muscles relax and block the flow of air into the lungs • Central sleep apnea (CSA), which occurs when the brain doesn't send proper signals to the muscles that control breathing • Treatment-emergent central sleep apnea, also known as complex sleep apnea, which happens when someone has OSA— diagnosed with a sleep study — that converts to CSA when receiving therapy for OSA Symptoms The symptoms of obstructive and central sleep apneas overlap, sometimes making it difficult to determine which type you have. The most common symptoms of obstructive and central sleep apneas include: • Loud snoring. • Episodes in which you stop breathing during sleep — which would be reported by another person. • Gasping for air during sleep. • Awakening with a dry mouth. • Morning headache. • Difficulty staying asleep, known as insomnia. • Excessive daytime sleepiness, known as hypersomnia. • Difficulty paying attention while awake. • Irritability. When to see a doctor Loud snoring can indicate a potentially serious problem, but not everyone who has sleep apnea snores. Talk to your health care provider if you have symptoms of sleep apnea. Ask your provider about any sleep pro...

Recent Examples on the Web Was he blinded by his desire to confirm his apnea hypothesis? — Neuroskeptic, Discover Magazine, 16 Jan. 2018 Sleep apnea, which occurs when an individual stops breathing during sleep, is also sometimes the result of an obstructed airway. — Deirdre Mundorf, Discover Magazine, 19 Aug. 2021 The more severe the apnea, the greater the risk of coronary artery disease, heart attacks, heart failure and strokes. — Sandee Lamotte, CNN, 23 Feb. 2023 Think app connectivity for easy data access, an air filter for purification, a software mode designed specifically for female users, and access to sleep apnea advice through the Care Check-In feature on the app. — Sarah Bradley, Verywell Health, 23 Feb. 2023 If these techniques don’t help, seeing a sleep disorder expert and undergoing a sleep study can be useful in determining if someone has another sleep disorder (such as apnea) that may be contributing to the problem. — Allison Futterman, Discover Magazine, 19 Oct. 2021 This practice trains the lungs and body to withstand significant apnea (breath holding) and depth underwater, without scuba equipment. — Tree Meinch, Discover Magazine, 30 Aug. 2021 Sleep apnea is a condition that causes people to periodically stop breathing while asleep, according to Yale Medicine. — Jacob Livesay, USA TODAY, 12 Jan. 2023 Sleep apnea can break down the blood-brain barrier that keeps bacteria from reaching the brain and doing permanent damage. — Sara Novak, Discover Magazine, ...

Sleep apnea is a disorder that's experienced more often and by more people than one would expect; it causes a person to stop breathing periodically during sleep, normally for around 10 seconds or longer. These 'events' can happen as little as a couple of times during sleep, or more than a hundred times in more severe cases. When a person stops breathing during the night they will wake up, because the brain will be forced to get their body to start breathing again. Learn More About Sleep Apnea and Hypopnea It is found that 2% to 4% of the world's adult population is affected by sleep apnea. Many of the people who experience sleep apnea also develop cognitive dysfunction as well as neuro-behavioral dysfunction. Memory impairment, concentration problems and mood swings are also associated with sleep apnea. Sleep Apnea Can be Experienced in 3 Forms: • Central sleep apnea – Central sleep apnea, in general, is experienced less commonly than obstructive sleep apnea. It happens when the brain fails to signal the breathing muscles. Normally conditions that influence the brain stem can be pointed out as the cause of central sleep apnea. • Obstructive sleep apnea – A complete or partial airway blockage while sleeping is the reason behind obstructive sleep apnea. A person's fatty tissues of the neck or the tongue will fall into the back part of the mouth because during sleep the throat muscles relax. This leads to blocked airflow. • Mixed sleep apnea – This form of sleep apnea consist...

Recent Examples on the Web Was he blinded by his desire to confirm his apnea hypothesis? — Neuroskeptic, Discover Magazine, 16 Jan. 2018 Sleep apnea, which occurs when an individual stops breathing during sleep, is also sometimes the result of an obstructed airway. — Deirdre Mundorf, Discover Magazine, 19 Aug. 2021 The more severe the apnea, the greater the risk of coronary artery disease, heart attacks, heart failure and strokes. — Sandee Lamotte, CNN, 23 Feb. 2023 Think app connectivity for easy data access, an air filter for purification, a software mode designed specifically for female users, and access to sleep apnea advice through the Care Check-In feature on the app. — Sarah Bradley, Verywell Health, 23 Feb. 2023 If these techniques don’t help, seeing a sleep disorder expert and undergoing a sleep study can be useful in determining if someone has another sleep disorder (such as apnea) that may be contributing to the problem. — Allison Futterman, Discover Magazine, 19 Oct. 2021 This practice trains the lungs and body to withstand significant apnea (breath holding) and depth underwater, without scuba equipment. — Tree Meinch, Discover Magazine, 30 Aug. 2021 Sleep apnea is a condition that causes people to periodically stop breathing while asleep, according to Yale Medicine. — Jacob Livesay, USA TODAY, 12 Jan. 2023 Sleep apnea can break down the blood-brain barrier that keeps bacteria from reaching the brain and doing permanent damage. — Sara Novak, Discover Magazine, ...