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There are several different kinds of sleep apnea. Obstructive sleep apnea is caused by a partial or complete blockage of the airway during sleep. During sleep, a person’s throat muscles relax, allowing the tongue and their fatty tissues of the throat to fall back into the airways and block airflow. This is often followed by loud gasping, choking, or snorting. Making those sounds as a person takes a deep enough breath to fight past the obstruction. Your doctor may grade the amount of apnea you are having into mild, moderate, or severe. If you have mild sleep apnea, you stop breathing about five to 14 times an hour. With moderate sleep apnea, you stop breathing about 15 to 30 times an hour, and in severe sleep apnea, you may stop breathing 30 or more times in an hour. Central sleep apnea occurs when the brain temporarily fails to signal the muscles responsible for controlling breathing. Unlike obstructive sleep apnea, which can be thought of as a mechanical problem, central sleep apnea is more of a communication problem. Central sleep apnea is also much less common than obstructive sleep apnea overall. Central sleep apnea is often caused by medical problems and conditions that affect the brainstem. What are some causes or conditions that can lead to central sleep apnea? Medical conditions that affect the brainstem include brain infection and stroke.
Obesity, certain medications like narcotic pain killers or heart failure can also contribute to central sleep apnea. Mixed sleep apnea is a combination of both obstructive and central sleep apnea symptoms. If you have any of these types of apnea, I educate my patients that usually one of the best treatments will still be C-PAP device. Although the settings or the type of C-PAP device you could get will differ, but in most cases where a C-PAP fails, bi-pap machines and adaptoservo ventilation devices are then tried, which can better control ventilation.
