The term "sleep apnea" is actually from the Greek word ‘Apnea’ which in its literal sense means “without breath”.
It is characterized by repetitive episodes of upper airway obstruction that occur during sleep and which is usually associated with a reduction in blood oxygen saturation.
The ceasing of respiration can occur several times throughout the night, which is why people with sleep apnea don’t often know that they have this extremely serious health problem for years.
Typically, chronic fatigue during the day and/or observation by a partner during the night are clues that lead people to visit a Sleep Clinic for a sleep study, and to the discovery ... they've got sleep apnea.
Types of Sleep Apnea
There are three types of sleep apnea -
The basic difference in the three types of apneas lies in their root cause but not the sleep apnea symptoms. Out of the three different types of apneas mentioned above the most common one is the obstructive sleep apnea. This implies a blockage of airways when the soft tissues at the back of the throat collapse, blocking the windpipe.
In central sleep apnea there is no blockage in the airways but the brain may sometimes forget to signal the patient to breathe.
In mixed sleep apnea, the brain arouses the patient to resume his breathing but the consequent sleep that follows is fragmented and of a very poor quality.
Sleep apnea is a potentially life threatening condition and if it is not given immediate attention can give rise to heart attacks, impotence, and other cardio vascular diseases.
If sleep apnea is timely diagnosed and treated with utmost care, usually with sleep apnea surgery ... it can be curable.