Obstructive Sleep Apnea - Overview

Obstructive Sleep Apnea was called the 'Pickwickian syndrome' in the past because Joe, the fat boy, described in 'The Pickwick Papers' by Charles Dickens, had typical features such as snoring, obesity, sleepiness and dropsy.

Obstructive Sleep Apnea(OSA) is a sleep- related breathing disorder in which there is repeated obstruction to the upper airway, while the person is sleeping.

'Apnea', which means 'without breath' in Greek , causes its victims to repeatedly stop breathing during their sleep, often for 10 seconds or more and sometimes even for a minute or longer. These episodes of breathing interruptions are dangerous and lead to a drop in the oxygen saturation in the blood. The obstructive episode frequency can be as high as 30 times an hour. Sleep apnea can be caused by either complete obstruction of the airway (obstructive apnea) or partial obstruction (Obstructive Hypopnea), both of which can wake a person from sleep to facilitate breathing.

A drop in the oxygen saturation can harm both the heart and the brain and can be dangerous to a person's health. The process of obstruction can lead to poor quality of sleep, waking up in the night and increased sleepiness during daytime and at work. This impacts the quality of life negatively. Besides this snoring can keep the partner awake.

Published on Feb 08, 2013
Last Updated on Feb 07, 2020

Latest Publications and Research on Obstructive Sleep Apnea

In-Home Diagnosis of Obstructive Sleep Apnea Using Automatic Video Analysis. - Published by PubMed
The association between sleep and diabetes outcomes - a systematic review. - Published by PubMed
Effects of the Combination of Atomoxetine and Oxybutynin on Obstructive Sleep Apnea Endotypic Traits. - Published by PubMed
Feature Extraction of Upper Airway Dynamics during Sleep Apnea using Electrical Impedance Tomography. - Published by PubMed
Effect of Obstructive Sleep Apnea on Neurocognitive Performance. - Published by PubMed

sunny1 Tuesday, June 3, 2008

See this recent publication that indicates that obstructive Sleep Apnea - Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is associated with coronary artery disease (CAD). We hypothesized that OSA is independently related to the risk of CAD or death from any cause. In this observational cohort study, patients referred for OSA underwent polysomnography, and subsequent CAD events (myocardial infarction, coronary angiography or bypass graft surgery) or death were recorded. Patients were divided into exposure (AHI 15) and comparison groups (AHI Increased Risk of Coronary Artery Disease and Death, Shah NA et al New Haven, CT