Facts & Questions

What are the types of sleep apnea?
What are the causes of sleep apnea?
How can I get diagnosed for sleep apnea?

What are the types of sleep apnea?

There are three types of sleep apnea.

Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA): The most common type of sleep apnea. OSA is caused by a breathing obstruction, which stops the air flow in the nose and mouth.

Central Sleep Apnea (CSA): A much less common type of sleep apnea. The brain signal that instructs the body to breathe is delayed. This central nervous system disorder can be caused by disease or injury involving the brainstem, such as a stroke, a brain tumor, a viral brain infection, or a chronic respiratory disease

Mixed sleep apnea: A combination of the two other types of sleep apnea, Obstructive Sleep Apnea and Central Sleep Apnea

What are the causes of sleep apnea?

Various risk factors can predispose you to have an obstructed airway and therefore cause sleep apnea. If you have a number of the risk factors below, and you are not sleeping well, you might consult a doctor for a diagnosis of sleep apnea. The risk factors for sleep apnea are:
    •  Obesity or excessive fat in the neck and throat
    •  Age - Although Sleep Apnea can occur at any age, it is more common in people over 40
    •  Male - Sleep Apnea is twice as like invmen as women
    •  Anatomical anomalies that narrow your airway – For example, a deviated septum, an enlarged tongue, or a receding chin.
    •  Enlarged tonsils or adenoids - Especially can cause sleep apnea in children.

How can I get diagnosed for sleep apnea?

Before you visit a doctor for a possible diagnosis of sleep apnea, ask your spouse or sleeping partner to keep a sleep diary for you. Your bed partner probably wakes up frequently because of your sleep problems, so keeping a record of awakenings can be a constructive way to move toward solution of your sleep disorder.

A willing bed partner can keep a notepad, a pen, and a flashlight near the bed, and can make written records for an entire night every so often. Whenever your bed partner wakes up, they can note

    •  how loud your snoring is,
    •  whether you are asleep or not, and
    •  whether you are having trouble breathing (that is, choking or gasping).
If you don’t have someone to record your sleep patterns, you can use a tape recorder yourself. You can automatically audiotape yourself during sleep with a sound-activated audio recorder or a software program that turns your computer into a sound-activated recorder. If you don’t have access to recording equipment, it may be worthwhile to ask a friend or loved one to monitor your sleep pattern for a few nights, or visit a sleep center for observation.

With your sleep record in hand, consult a knowledgeable doctor or a sleep specialist. To diagnose for sleep apnea, the doctor or specialist will:

    •  perform a physical examination of your mouth and nose to look for obstructions,
    •  possibly do an endoscopy of your nose and throat, and x-rays or a CT scan of the head and neck, and
    •  recommend an overnight sleep study in a sleep clinic.

Sleep tests in a sleep clinic help to diagnose sleep apnea by measuring how frequently you stop breathing. Polysomnography is a standard test that records:

    •  electrical activity of the brain,
    •  eye movement,
    •  muscle movement,
    •  heart rate,
    •  respiratory effort,
    •  air flow, and
    •  blood oxygen levels during sleep.