Introduction of Disease
Sleep Apnea is a most common sleep disorder where one experiences more pauses in his/her breathing. The disorder is also characterized by instances of shallow breathing during sleep. A person suffering from Sleep Apnea can also experience sleeping pauses that last for seconds or even several minutes. It is can be central, complex and obstructive. In Central Sleep Apnea (CSA) an individual’s breathing is mostly due to the lack of a respiratory effort. Complex Sleep Apnea on the other hand is a combination of both obstructive and central. Obstructive Sleep Apnea, breathing is interrupted by physical barriers to air flow. These interruptions take place despite respiratory efforts and snoring is common among the victims.
Etiology
Sleep Apnea has many causes that can be insufficient flow of air into one’s throat. Whenever a person is awake, his/her throat muscles assist to keep air path stiff and open and the chances of experiencing air pauses are therefore limited ( Chapman et al., 2016). On the other hand, sleeping can naturally cause the disorder since when one is asleep his throat muscles tend to relax a situation that leads to throat narrowing leading to pauses in his breathing. The narrowing of the air path does not prevent the flow of air into and from the lungs by rather makes it fully or partially blocked especially in a person with Sleep Apnea.
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According to Chapman, et al. (2016) if a person experiences frequent drops of oxygen in his blood or a reduced quality in his sleep then he/she is more likely to suffer from this condition. Being overweight also puts one into high chances of suffering from Sleep Apnea. This is due to the existence of an extra soft tissue that end up thickening the walls of the trachea causing it to be narrow than normal. An overweight person is also more likely to have large tissue masses behind his mouth when compared with the trachea opening. This causes narrowness of the air path which in turn results to sleeping Sleep Apnea.
Sleep Apnea can also be caused by aging. The aged are more likely to experience this disorder compared with the younger generation. This is because the aging process is more likely to lower the ability of the brain to keep one’s throat muscles stiff when he/she is asleep. This causes the air path to be slightly narrow or even get collapsed ( Chapman, et al., 2016). A person’s physical shape can also cause this disorder. This is especially the shape of the head and the neck which is commonly known as the bony structure, and is more likely to a narrow air path size in the mouth and throat area.
Chapman, et al. (2016) also asserts that, people who take alcohol, smoke and use of sedatives are also more likely to develop this disorder. Alcohol is associated with triggering the relaxation of throat muscles causing narrowing of the air path. On the other smoking is more likely to higher the probability of developing Sleep Apnea. When compared with people who do not smoke, smokers have a high degree of developing Sleep Apnea. But, Sleep Apnea can affect any person regardless of his age, race or gender. Individuals with a family history with this disorder are also at risks. This shows that, Sleep Apnea can be inherited.
Obesity is also more likely to cause Sleep Apnea as well as excessive weight. Obesity causes the growth of soft tissues and muscles in the throat path which also cause the narrowing of the trachea part or the air part in general ( Chapman et al., 2016). The soft tissues also causes the air path to get blocked a condition that leads to Sleep Apnea. Genetic disorders that includes Pierra-Robin syndrome and Down syndrome can also lead to this defect among children. This is due to a condition whereby the tonsils, tongue and adenoids get enlarged especially in children suffering from Down syndrome.
Pathophysiological Processes
The disorder affects the upper airway in most humans. There are several cellular changes that occur in the upper airway anatomy especially when a person’s trachea is narrowed and experiences pauses in his breathing process. However, the upper air way is a unique human structure that also act as a multipurpose ( Chapman, et al., 2016). This structure performs functions such as the swallowing of liquid form foods, acts as air passage for breathing in addition to assistance in speech. This muscle comprises of soft muscles and tissues that do not have a bony support. This path is characterized by an ability to change shape especially during wakefulness a characteristic that normally collapses when one is asleep. This area is mostly affected in patients with Sleep Apnea and thus its soft muscles and tissues normally appear altered. This therefore promotes the risk of the upper airway to collapse as stated by Chapman et al. (2016).
Clinical Manifestations
According to Fouladpour et al. (2016) the most common signs and symptoms of the disease include snoring, which is in most cases load. This is the most common sign of a person suffering from this disorder. In most cases, the snoring is much loader when one sleeps in his back compared with a situation when he/she turns on his side. In fact, this snoring gets loader and loader as time elapses and the patient is asleep when all these happen ( Fouladpour et al., 2016). Mostly people will not notice when the snoring and the gasps happen simply because they are deep in their sleep. It is important to note that not every person who snores is suffering from this disorder. Some people are more likely to snore especially when their head is not placed well during their sleep.
A person suffering from this disorder is also likely to experience chocking or gasping sensations. This sensations are more likely to awake him from his sleep although is low in proportion compared to the number of apneas they encounter ( Sanders et al., 2016). One is more likely to experience fighting sleepless during daytime if he is suffering from this disorder ( Fouladpour et al., 2016). This can be when they are performing tasks in their dairy work such as sleeping or office work. This also involves rapidly falling asleep as they go through the quiet moments of the day more especially when one is inactive. Fouladpour et al. (2016) states that experiencing headaches n the morning, memory loss, continuous awakening, experiencing learning problems such as poor concentration, feeling moody and depressed and dry mouth in addition to waking up frequently to go for a short call are major signs related with this disorder.
Complications
Sleep Apnea is a complicated and dangerous medical condition that may lead to many complications. The disorder leads to fatigue especially during the day. People who suffer from this disorder experience continuous and repeated awakening as discussed in this paper as stated by Sanders et al. (2016). This denies them normal sleep making them to experience a severe drowsiness during daytime in addition to feeling of irritability ( Fouladpour et al., 2016). This can lead to poor performance in one’s job or even cause accidents in case the victim engages in driving.
According to Fouladpour et al. (2016) sleep Apnea is more likely to lead to hypertension and heart problems. As stated in this paper, patients with this disorder experience a sudden drop out in the level of oxygen in the blood stream a condition that can increase blood pressure. This can lead to the straining of the cardiovascular system leading to high blood pressure. A person suffering from this disorder is also likely to have an increased risk of experiencing a heart attack, which is due to the abnormal heartbeats experienced.
Diagnostics
Kapur et al. (2016) state that, sleep Apnea can be diagnosed based on the family medical history. It is advisable that individuals who think of having a sleep problem keep their sleep histories. This can be very easy for doctors to evaluate his symptoms, observation and risk factors. This can be done through a clearly observing the patient in relation to daytime sleeplessness and fatigue. On the other hand, the best form of diagnosis is through the formal sleep study which is a reduced channel that is home based. This can be through carrying out sleep studies which are mainly meant to measure the response of one’s body to sleep problems and how well a person sleeps ( Kapur et al., 2016). These tests are very important since they can assist the doctor to know whether one has a sleep problem.
Polysomnogram is also an effective way of diagnosing this disorder. This is abbreviated as PSG and is among the sleep studies that are most common in diagnosing this disorder. This study takes a record of the amount of oxygen in a person’s blood, snoring, chest movements in addition to the movements of the air when one breaths ( Kapur et al., 2016). Thereafter, a sleep expert examines this movements and results and shows whether one has Sleep Apnea.
References
Chapman, J. L., Serinel, Y., Marshall, N. S., & Grunstein, R. R. (2016). Residual Daytime Sleepiness in Obstructive Sleep Apnea After Continuous Positive Airway Pressure Optimization: Causes and Management. Sleep Medicine Clinics .
Fouladpour, N., Jesudoss, R., Bolden, N., Shaman, Z., & Auckley, D. (2016). Perioperative complications in obstructive sleep apnea patients undergoing surgery: a review of the legal literature. Anesthesia & Analgesia , 122 (1), 145-151.
Sanders, A. E., Akinkugbe, A. A., Slade, G. D., & Essick, G. K. (2016). Tooth loss and obstructive sleep apnea signs and symptoms in the US population. Sleep and Breathing , 1-8.
Kapur, V., Quan, S., & Zee, P. (2016). The Diagnosis and Management of Obstructive Sleep Apnea. The Medical Roundtable General Medicine Edition .
