Type of Sleep Apnea

Central and Obstructive (Peripheral)

Central Sleep Apnea - is when the brain “forgets to breathe”. This happens in patients with disorders in the brain itself. For example, patients with brain tumours or patients with too much carbon dioxide in the blood, this would lead to suppression of the breathing centers in the brain.

Obstructive Sleep Apnea - OSA is a disorder that is characterized by repeated episodes of airway blockage that occur during sleep, and usually associated with snoring and reduction in blood oxygen level.

Apnea is defined as an absence of breathing for 10 seconds or longer.

Severity of OSA is measured in terms of the number of stoppages of breathing per hour at night during sleep. Patients with severe sleep apnea can stop breathing as often as once every minute, over the entire night’s rest.

Diagnosis of OSA requires a thorough clinical examination, a flexible nasoendoscopy and an overnight sleep study (polysomnogram).

Do I have Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA)?

Symptoms of OSA

During the day:

• Daytime sleepiness, tiredness
• Poor concentration
• Poor memory
• Morning headaches
• Mood changes
• Irritability

During the night:

• Choking sensation at night
• Gasping for air at night
• Frequent arousals
• Nocturia (frequent passing urine)
• Loud snoring

Is OSA dangerous?

Obstructive Sleep Apnea can lead to heart attacks heart failure, high blood pressure, strokes and sudden death while sleeping.

IN SINGAPORE, AN AVERAGE OF 300 PEOPLE DIE PER YEAR FROM SUDDEN DEATH IN THEIR SLEEP. (Sunday Times, Nov 2006)

Associated diseases

• Obesity,
• Hypertension (high blood pressure),
• Ischaemic Heart Disease (heart attacks),
• Stroke,
• Depression,
• Diabetes Mellitus,
• Impotence,
• Memory Loss.