Sleep Apnea
Obstructive sleep apnea is a type of sleep apnea which is defined as condition of loss of breathing in episodes lasting more than 10 seconds during sleep. 90% of the patients suffering from sleep apnea have obstructive sleep apnea. International prevalence of obstructive sleep apnea varies from 0.3% to 25-30% in different parts of world. Only in US there are over 20 million people suffering from OSA (obstructive Sleep Apnea) up to some degree, with above 6 million established cases in search of proper treatment. And important fact to be mentioned is that there are more than 500,000 patients under treatment only in US currently.
Obesity- Prime Risk Factor for OSA
Obesity is most prime risk factor for OSA. An increase in the BMI of a person increases the risk of OSA. Obesity causes the deposition of adipose cells in the airway. The fat deposition in air way specially in upper part of airway near tonsils, vulva and under surface of tongue causes narrowing of air passages which becomes more obvious during sleeping and cause breathing loss. Obese males are more prone to develop OSA than other population sects. Certain other following factors can also cause OSA are listed below- Advanced age
- Alcohol use
- Neurological disease of pharyngeal structures e.g. vulva, tongue
- Hypothyroidism
- Stroke
- Short fat neck
Effects of OSA
Obstructive sleep apnea at first causes the choking of breath and frequent night arousals in minimized episodes, but with time these episodes of breath cessation and night arousals may reach a frequency of 60-100 per hour. The night arousals can lead to daytime sleepiness in these patients a much common effect of OSA. Severe episodes of can be fatal at times but in general OSA is not considered a fatal disorder unless complicated by some other supervening morbid conditions. Some normally associated symptoms with OSA are- Morning headaches
- Confusion due to memory loss
- Leg swelling
- Breath shortness and agitation
