The classification of major sleep disorders includes the so-called sleep apnea syndrome. What is this, far from everyone understands. When it appears in a dream, a person has long periods of respiratory arrest. This phenomenon is quite dangerous, as in some cases it can be fatal.
In other words, apnea is a complete stop of the recorded nasal and oral respiratory flows, which lasts at least ten seconds and is caused by the decline of the paths in the pharynx. At the same time, respiratory efforts can be either preserved or absent.
The main types of apnea
To date, there are three main types of this concept. It is central, obstructive, and mixed.
Central apnea is defined as insufficiency of air flow due to the fact that temporarily there is no impulse of the central nervous system, which activates respiratory effort. As a rule, this type is found in people with impaired mechanisms in the process of breathing regulation, and it is also associated with deep and anatomical damage to the CNS pathways.
Obstructive sleep apnea syndrome is a serious, often life-threatening condition. It is usually characterized by the fact that respiratory arrest develops for a period of more than ten seconds and at intervals equal to fifteen times per hour. Obstructive or peripheral apnea is characterized by a blockage of air flow in the upper respiratory tract. Because of this, all exhaled air cannot reach the lungs, which is why there is insufficient air flow.
Mixed Apnea
Mixed apnea consists of symptoms of both of the above types. The most common, as indicated by the data of most laboratories that study sleep, is obstructive sleep apnea, but at the same time very mixed is also observed.
Most situations of obstructive apnea are caused by improper coordination of the central nervous system impulses with respect to the respiratory muscles. In such cases, muscular dystonia of the central pharynx occurs.
In men, nocturnal apnea (which is described above) is about twenty times more likely, as a rule, it occurs from forty to sixty years. Most of these people suffer from obesity.
Clinical forms of apnea
According to the classification of sleep apnea, in addition to dividing into the above types, which are related to the pathogenesis of this syndrome, there are also clinical varieties consisting in the following forms:
- snoring with elements of sleep apnea;
- Pickwick syndromes;
- sudden apnea in children (sudden death syndrome) ;
- central hypoventilation;
- the curse of Undine.
Night snores are manifested by the sound that occurs when you inhale during the passage of air into the narrowed oral and nasal region of the pharynx.
The so-called Pickwick syndrome is characterized by the presence of obesity, night snoring, polycythemia, as well as hyperemia.
Apnea in infants
Sudden apnea in children occupies a significant place in the number of deaths up to one year. This phenomenon occurs due to an incomplete regulation of respiration. As a rule, it often happens in premature babies. And exacerbated if there is catarrhal inflammation and hematomas of the respiratory tract.
The cause of the appearance of VAGD in infants with an underdeveloped central nervous system can also be overheating, due to which the normal thermal regime was disrupted. In this case, a mixed apnea syndrome develops in newborns, and both the central and obstructive mechanisms take part in its appearance.
The Undine curse is also a form of pathology such as night apnea. What is this - not many know. This phenomenon is quite rare. With this form, automatic control over the regulation of ventilation is lost, so breathing can be controlled arbitrarily, which is impossible during sleep. When a person is sleeping, regulation is not carried out, and apnea occurs. This often happens in the presence of tumors, inflammations or dystrophic lesions of the brain of the spinal cord, in addition, with surgical intervention of the pathways.
Central form of obstructive apnea
This option in the supine position is usually found in people with mild manifestations of the disease. Obstructive apnea is characterized by the presence of
complaints of constant snoring and drowsiness during the day, however, when there is polysomnography, there is a syndrome without respiratory effort of chest abduction, which is characteristic of the central form of the disease. The treatment of apnea of this type is easy to implement, since it is quite possible to recognize a similar form by recording a dream in a video, i.e., by the specific noise at the opening of the airways in each episode of apnea.
The main mechanisms of this phenomenon can be associated with the fact that there is a suppression of respiratory effort through the decline of the pharynx in a supine position. At the same time, local anesthesia leads to the usual manifestations of sleep apnea.
Laryngeal form of sleep apnea
This option is much less common than obstructive sleep apnea. This form mainly occurs when obstruction of the upper respiratory tract during sleep develops after disturbances in the innervation of the larynx, which lead to the fact that it overlaps. People surrounding these patients tend to notice unusual snoring, as well as other symptoms, including drowsiness, headaches in the morning, and foggy consciousness. The reasons may be central and peripheral disorders.
Nighttime spasms of the larynx appear quite often due to the effect on the vocal cords of hydrochloric acid. A person cannot breathe normally, and breathing becomes intermittent, after which he abruptly wakes up. Such symptoms usually last two or three minutes.
The concept of hypopnea
This phenomenon is a respiratory event, which is characterized by a partial decrease in the nasal and oral airflow, as well as a decrease in amplitude by at least half in combination with a decrease in oxygen saturation in the blood by three percent, the duration being at least ten seconds. Hypopnea syndrome can be either obstructive or central.
Such concepts are collectively referred to as general respiratory disorders. These phenomena serve as the basis for the definitions of pathology about the syndrome of ovarian hypopnea.
To date, there is no clear definition of sleep apnea syndrome. Initially, his interpretation was based only on the number of respiratory events in one hour of sleep. At the same time, snoring is one of the most characteristic and indispensable symptoms of obstructive sleep apnea, as well as a major risk factor. However, far from all snoring people have obstructive apnea syndrome, while the risk of their occurrence is significantly higher than those who do not snore.
Severity of Apnea
In addition, today there is another classification of apnea based on severity. Its criteria are the number, as well as the duration of attacks for one hour of sleep at night.
As a rule, there are three main degrees of severity of apnea:
- mild form (from five to twenty attacks per night);
- moderate severity (from twenty to forty seizures);
- severe form (more than forty seizures).
Depending on the variety, different treatment for sleep apnea is used. In addition, the severity, as well as the duration of the process of blood oxygenation and the seizures themselves, are of great importance. The severity of sleep apnea is estimated by the indices of respiratory disorders, which are calculated by a special formula.
Also, additional conditions for assessing the severity of apnea can be indicators of blood oxygen saturation based on seizures, the degree of night sleep, and also cardiovascular disorders that are associated with respiratory abnormalities.
Definition of Obstructive Apnea
Today, the most comprehensive definition of obstructive sleep apnea can be highlighted. This is a condition in which a person has many constantly recurring respiratory arrest due to complete or partial apnea. The reasons may be the cessation of pulmonary ventilation, despite the fact that respiratory efforts, which are characterized by the presence of snoring, and also a decrease in oxygen in the blood and fragmentation of sleep, persist.
Frequent awakenings and excessive daytime sleepiness can be observed here. In order to identify apnea, the respiration of which differs significantly from the normal state, it is necessary to determine whether its episodes really lasted at least ten seconds and appeared fifteen times per hour.
Features of Obstructive Apnea
In more severe cases, up to five hundred respiratory arrests with a total duration of three or four hours can be observed at night. It is extremely necessary to treat apnea. The presence of such a pathology can lead to acute and chronic hypoxemia, which significantly increases the possible risk of developing hypertension, and also leads to disturbances in heart rhythms, myocardial infarction, strokes, and even sudden death in a dream.
In the daytime, people suffering from such an ailment have bouts of increased drowsiness, increased irritability, decreased attention, decreased potency, and prolonged headache. In addition, attacks of drowsiness are quite dangerous during the period of driving, as there is a certain risk of traffic accidents.
Apnea history
The very first time the manifestation of apnea was described in detail back in 1919. An example was taken of young people who are overweight and complaining of drowsiness present in the daytime. Already in 1956, a condition was described that had such recognizable symptoms as obesity, snoring at night, and hypertension.
Undine's Curse Syndrome is a rare form of central apnea. What is it, not many people know. This condition is usually accompanied by marked hypoxia and changes in brain activity, leading to fairly frequent awakenings at night. In addition, there are cases of apnea in people with optimal body weight and lack of sleepiness during the day.
Consequences of apnea
Insomnia and various sleep disorders that cause obstructive sleep apnea syndrome in people greatly affect their daily lives. Immediately, labor productivity decreases, medical expenses increase, the duration of sick leave increases, and so on.
In addition, apnea (what it is, was mentioned earlier) leads to a decrease in oxygen production in combination with a decrease in sleep quality, resulting in the release of stress hormones that can increase pressure, increase heart rate and lead to congestion in the heart. Apnea also leads to impaired energy metabolism, which is associated with the risk of overweight and diabetes.
As a rule, a sharp decrease in the level of oxygen in the body can lead to a headache in the morning, a decrease in the ability to concentrate, think logically, learn and remember something. In addition, insomnia leads to changes in the patient’s mood and behavior, as well as a depressive state. Therefore, sleepless nights increase the possibility of accidents both at work and on the road.
The attacks of night apnea (what it is and how to deal with them, we examined in our review) are perfectly explained by modern medicine. Today they are quite easy to treat, the principles of which depend on a combination of various causes and the severity of the disease. If there is simple snoring and mild forms of apnea, then special laser and radio frequency methods for treating the soft palate and palatine tongue are very effective . Also, a rather important point in the treatment process is surgical intervention with difficulty breathing.