News tagged with sleep apnea

Sleep Apnea May Not Be Closely Linked to Heart Failure Severity

Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) and central sleep apnea (CSA) are not markedly decreased in heart failure (HF) patients managed with beta-blockers and spironolactone, reports a study in the March issue of Journal of Cardiac Fai ...

Medicine & Health / Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes

created May 06, 2009 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 0

Catching a breath - wirelessly: Noninvasive method to watch for SIDS, help surgery patients

University of Utah engineers who built wireless networks that see through walls now are aiming the technology at a new goal: noninvasively measuring the breathing of surgery patients, adults with sleep apnea ...

Technology / Engineering

created Sep 19, 2011 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Implantable device for sleep apnea studied

For millions of Americans, trying to get a restful night’s sleep is more like a nightmare.

Medicine & Health / Sleep apnea

created Mar 29, 2011 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Experiments test if implant can block sleep apnea

(AP) -- Loud snoring may do more than irritate your spouse: It can signal sleep apnea, depriving you of enough zzzz's to trigger a car crash, even a heart attack. Now scientists are beginning to test if an ...

Medicine & Health / Sleep apnea

created Dec 27, 2010 | popularity 4.4 / 5 (9) | comments 9

Severe sleep apnea decreases frequency of nightmare recall

A study in the Feb. 15 issue of the Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine shows that patients with severe obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) report a significantly lower frequency of nightmares than patients with mild or no sleep ...

Medicine & Health / Sleep apnea

created Feb 15, 2010 | popularity 2 / 5 (2) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Obstructive sleep apnea may worsen diabetes

Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA) adversely affects glucose control in patients with type 2 diabetes, according to a study conducted by researchers at the University of Chicago.

Medicine & Health / Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes

created Jan 14, 2010 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Severe breathing disorders during sleep are associated with an increased risk of dying

Severe breathing disorders during sleep are associated with an increased risk of dying from any cause according to research published this week in the open access journal PLoS Medicine. The study finds that the increased risk o ...

Medicine & Health / Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes

created Aug 17, 2009 | popularity 4 / 5 (3) | comments 0

Sleep apnea thickens blood vessels, increases heart disease risk

Obstructive sleep apnea, or periodic interruptions in breathing throughout the night, thickens sufferers' blood vessels. Moreover, it increases the risk of several forms of heart and vascular disease.

Biology / Cell & Microbiology

created May 04, 2009 | popularity 5 / 5 (3) | comments 0

8 hours -- or else

Americans are sleeping less than ever, according to a new National Sleep Foundation poll. Some people are losing sleep because of the economy. Some are staying up too late and getting up too early. Some have disorders such ...

Medicine & Health / Health

created Mar 27, 2009 | popularity 4.3 / 5 (8) | comments 2

Risk of death is high in older adults with sleep apnea and daytime sleepiness

A study in the April 1 issue of the journal Sleep suggests that the risk of death is more than two times higher in older adults who have sleep apnea and report struggling with excessive daytime sleepiness.

Medicine & Health / Sleep apnea

created Apr 01, 2011 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 0

Belly fat puts women at risk for osteoporosis

For years, it was believed that obese women were at lower risk for developing osteoporosis, and that excess body fat actually protected against bone loss. However, a study presented today at the annual meeting of the Radiological ...

Medicine & Health / Health

created Nov 30, 2010 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Sleep apnea linked to cognitive difficulties and deficits in gray matter

Patients with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) may blame their daytime difficulties on simple sleepiness, but new research suggests that their brains may be to blame. Specifically, their cognitive challenges may be caused by ...

Medicine & Health / Sleep apnea

created Nov 12, 2010 | popularity 3 / 5 (1) | comments 0

80.5% of hospital patients are at high risk for sleep apnea, study finds

Eighty-one percent of hospital patients are at high risk for obstructive sleep apnea, a Loyola University Health System study has found.

Medicine & Health / Sleep apnea

created Nov 04, 2010 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Study finds an increased risk of death in men with insomnia and a short sleep duration

A study in the Sept. 1 issue of the journal Sleep found an elevated risk of death in men with a complaint of chronic insomnia and an objectively measured short sleep duration. The results suggest that public health policy ...

Medicine & Health / Health

created Sep 01, 2010 | popularity 4 / 5 (2) | comments 0

Identification of a gene essential to newborn babies' first breath

How do mammals prepare themselves in utero for a radical modification to their respiration at the time of birth, when they move abruptly from an aquatic medium to air?

Medicine & Health / Neuroscience

created Jul 21, 2010 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Sleep apnea

Sleep apnea (or sleep apnoea in British English) is a sleep disorder characterized by pauses in breathing during sleep. Each episode, called an apnea (Greek: ἄπνοια (ápnoia), from α- (a-), privative, πνέειν (pnéein), to breathe), lasts long enough so that one or more breaths are missed, and such episodes occur repeatedly throughout sleep. The standard definition of any apneic event includes a minimum 10 second interval between breaths, with either a neurological arousal (a 3-second or greater shift in EEG frequency, measured at C3, C4, O1, or O2), a blood oxygen desaturation of 3-4% or greater, or both arousal and desaturation. Sleep apnea is diagnosed with an overnight sleep test called a polysomnogram, or a "Sleep Study".

Clinically significant levels of sleep apnea are defined as five or more episodes per hour of any type of apnea (from the polysomnogram). There are three distinct forms of sleep apnea: central, obstructive, and complex (i.e., a combination of central and obstructive) constituting 0.4%, 84% and 15% of cases respectively. Breathing is interrupted by the lack of respiratory effort in central sleep apnea; in obstructive sleep apnea, breathing is interrupted by a physical block to airflow despite respiratory effort. In complex (or "mixed") sleep apnea, there is a transition from central to obstructive features during the events themselves.

Regardless of type, the individual with sleep apnea is rarely aware of having difficulty breathing, even upon awakening. Sleep apnea is recognized as a problem by others witnessing the individual during episodes or is suspected because of its effects on the body (sequelae). Symptoms may be present for years (or even decades) without identification, during which time the sufferer may become conditioned to the daytime sleepiness and fatigue associated with significant levels of sleep disturbance.

For more information about Sleep apnea, read the full article at Wikipedia.
This text uses material from Wikipedia and is available under the GNU Free Documentation License.