Sleep Apnea – A Sleeping Epidemic

Central Sleep Apnea or CSA happens when your brain doesn’t send proper signals to the muscles that control your breathing. This condition is different from obstructive sleep apnea, in which you can’t breathe normally because of upper airway obstruction. Central sleep apnea is less common than obstructive sleep apnea.

Central Sleep Apnea can be caused by a number of conditions that affect the ability of your brainstem — which links your brain to your spinal cord and controls many functions such as heart rate and breathing — to control your breathing.

A video that describes Central Sleep Apnea, Diagnostics and general Q & A about Central Sleep apnea.

Central Sleep Apnea, An Issue of Sleep Medicine Clinics (The Clinics: Internal Medicine Book 9) 

Just about everything you might want to know about CSA or Central Sleep Apnea.

Dr. Peter Gay has put together a team of expert authors centering on the topic of Central Sleep Apnea. Focus will include articles on CSA due to other Medical Disorders, Cheyne-Stokes Respiration, Central Sleep Apnea and Cardiovascular Disease, Complex Sleep Apnea, Adaptive servo-ventilation Treatment, Drug induced central apneas- Mechanism and Therapies, ICSD-2 and AASM Practice Parameters, Alternative approaches to treatment of Central Sleep Apnea, and Infant central apnea on the following link.

Central Sleep Apnea, An Issue of Sleep Medicine Clinics (The Clinics: Internal Medicine Book 9) 

Sheila Kun
Nurse Case Manager Pediatric Pulminology
skun@chla.usc.edu

CCHS
Congenital Central Hypoventilation Syndrome
congenital central hypoventilation syndrome (CCHS) or primary alveolar hypoventilation, is a respiratory disorder that is fatal if untreated. Persons afflicted with Ondine’s curse classically suffer from respiratory arrest during sleep.

Persons who have CCHS get it at birth, or develop it due to severe neurological trauma/damage to the brainstem. The diagnosis may be delayed because of variations in the severity of the manifestations or lack of awareness in the medical community, particularly in milder cases. (Chin, 2006).[1]

This very rare and serious form of central sleep apnea involves an inborn failure of autonomic control of breathing. About 1 in 200,000 live born children have the condition. In 2006, there were only about 200 known cases worldwide. In all cases, episodes of apnea occur in sleep, but in a few patients, at the most severe end of the spectrum, apnea also occurs while awake.

A persons gender or race is not a determining factor when dealing with susceptibility to CCHS. Males and females are both affected equally and a person’s ethnicity, as of this point, has been not been coincided a variable to the disease.

Duration : 0:5:44

Read the rest of this entry »

Quick differentiation between obstructive and central sleep apnea.

Duration : 0:0:52

Read the rest of this entry »

Here you can see the correct adaptation of SOMNOFIT, the anti-snoring device.
How SOMNOFIT is functioning as an effective mandibular advancing device (MAD).

For further informations and orders:

Home

Apnex -Sleep&Body
Kasernenstr. 13
CH-8004 Zürich
Switzerland
Tel. 0041-43-321 98 08
info@apnex.ch

Duration : 0:3:16

Read the rest of this entry »

In this video the main character realizes that he has sleep apnea and is educated about the treatment options.

Duration : 0:3:59

Read the rest of this entry »

Review
There is more scientific, clinical, and practical information … than is provided in most medical, respiratory, and nursing schools. — Respiratory Care

Sleep apnea disrupts the lives of millions of unsuspecting victims. Their struggle to breathe during sleep is a major cause of daytime sleepiness, accidents, poor health, lost years of productivity and happiness, and even death. Experts in sleep medicine and a patient guide people with snoring and sleep apnea an (more…)

Fitting cleaning and maintaining your new SleepWeaver soft cloth CPAP mask video. Brought to you by http://www.sleepweaver.com and only from Circadiance.

Duration : 0:8:54

Read the rest of this entry »

Brief video and audio demonstration of the Contour CPAP Pillow – a foam support pillow designed specifically for anyone who sleep with a CPAP mask, for the treatment of Sleep Apnea.

Duration : 0:1:24

Read the rest of this entry »

Duration : 0:0:40

Read the rest of this entry »

Sleep Apnea or Sleep Apnoea (depending on where you live) is a common disorder nearly as common as adult diabetes with the most common and usually most severe sleep apnea condition being known as obstructive sleep apnea or OSA for short.

It is thought that one in twenty-five middle-aged men and one in every fifty middle-aged women may have Sleep Apnea and of these less than half are likely to have been diagnosed. Sleep apnea diagnosis usually depends on other persons observations of the sufferer and the  recognition of the sleep apnea symptoms, particularly sleep apnea snoring and cessations in breathing while asleep, as most sufferers may not even be aware that they have the condition.

With the American Sleep Foundation reporting that sleep deprivation, not cancer or coronary illness, now constitutes the number one killer in the Western World, Sleep Apnea is fast becoming a major issue for western society.

There are three types of Sleep Apnea, these being.

• Obstructive Sleep Apnea where the airway collapses or becomes blocked and restricts breathing, and is the most common form of Sleep Apnea .
• Central Sleep Apnea is the less common form of Sleep Apnea and is where the brain fails to tell the body to breath and
• Mixed Apnea which is a combination of both Central and Obstructive Sleep Apnea.

Untreated Sleep Apnea can increase the risk of high blood pressure, heart attack, stroke, obesity and diabetes. The broken sleep pattern that comes with Sleep Apnea also leads to increased tiredness and decreased awareness in waking hours, with some sufferers experiencing periods of momentary sleep events at times throughout the day.

The sleep apnea treatment method adopted will depend on the severity of the condition and the physical condition of the patient and in most cases involves the ongoing use of a CPAP or Continuous Positive Air Pressure machine,  but can also include the use of physical devices such as Mandibular Advancement Devices (or MAD’s) or in some cases sleep apnea surgery.

Sleep Apnea is normally something that develops over a period of time and as such is usually not noticed as a problem, with most people putting the symptoms down to just being part of “growing older”; this is not necessarily the case.

There are no blood or other post event tests for determining Sleep Apnea , and as such Sleep Apnea is normally diagnosed as a result of comments or complaints from sleeping partners or family who have noticed the gaps in breathing or the excessive snoring.

Sleep Apnea can be treated or managed once diagnosed. The risks to your health associated with failing to act on sleep apnea are significant and Sleep Apnea should not be taken lightly. If you have any of the symptoms or are told by your partner that you do, then you may be suffering from Sleep Apnea, take action now, get yourself assessed, it could save a life, yours.