Is Your Spouse's Sleep Apnea Keeping You Up All Night?

Sleep apnea is a sleep disorder that is caused by the repeated interruption of breathing during sleep. In people with this condition, the breathing is seen to stop and restart repeatedly, resulting in loud snoring and disturbed sleep for the patient and their partner.

Types and Causes of Sleep Apnea

This sleep disorder is characterized by the difficulty in breathing, snoring and a feeling of fatigue even after a full night’s sleep.

Sleep apnea is categorized as:

One of the most common types, obstructive sleep apnea seems to affect many people and is caused by a serious obstruction of the airway passage, leading to disrupted breathing during sleep.

  • Central sleep apnea

    This type is related to a dysfunction in the brain that causes a malfunction in the activation of the muscles involved in breathing.

  • Mixed sleep apnea

    This is caused by a combination of an obstruction in the airway and a failure of the muscles involved in breathing.

The causes of sleep apnea vary depending on the type:

  • Obstructive sleep apnea

This condition is caused by the relaxation of the muscles surrounding the pharynx and throat. These muscles support the soft palate, but when they relax, they narrow the airway passage making it difficult to breathe. This results in oxygen deprivation for all the organs.

  • Central sleep apnea

This condition is caused by the failure of the brain to activate the muscles involved in breathing during sleep. Snoring and fatigue are the common characteristics of this type of sleep apnea.

Symptoms and Treatment of Sleep Apnea

Though there are different types of sleep apnea, the symptoms associated with the conditions are similar and may overlap, making it difficult to make the right diagnosis. The common symptoms include:

Mild cases of sleep apnea are often managed without medications and therapies, with doctors recommending weight management, a healthy diet and lifestyle, trying different sleep patterns like avoiding sleeping on the back and regulating the use of stimulants like alcohol and cigarettes.

Various therapies and devices used in more severe cases of sleep apnea include:

  • Airway pressure monitoring

    This device adjusts the airway pressure to reduce any obstruction and balance the amount of air inhaled.

  • Oral devices

    These devices help keep the throat open to ensure optimal entry of air into the pharynx and lungs. The narrowing of airway passage in obstructive sleep apnea may be better addressed with this device.

Is Your Spouse's Sleep Apnea Keeping You Up All Night?

  • Surgery

    Therapies and devices may not provide the required relief in chronic cases and a surgery may be required to ease the airways. Surgeries that are usually undertaken for this include:

    • Nasal surgery:
      Performed to adjust the septum to balance the location of muscles involved in respiration. The surgery may be effective in alleviating throat obstruction.
    • Mandibular maxillary surgery:
      This surgery is recommended for patients with severe throat and upper-respiratory tract obstructions.
    • Uvulopalatopharyngoplasty (UPPP):
      This procedure involves the surgical removal of soft tissue from the palate and throat. This provides an obstruction-free air passage, enabling patients to breathe better.

  • Alternative therapy

    Acupuncture has been found effective in improving the interrupted breathing associated with sleep apnea.

Complications Associated with Sleep Apnea

Although sleep apnea is a “manageable” sleep disorder, experts say that if left untreated, it can lead to serious disorders like:

While most people associate sleep apnea only with its most common symptom, loud snoring, it is a more serious condition that may require medical attention. But when diagnosed and treated correctly, the symptoms of sleep apnea can be brought under control.

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References

K., S., M., B., Tahir, T., Y., . . . S. (n.d.). Evaluation of choroidal thickness in patients with obstructive sleep apnea/hypopnea syndrome. Retrieved from http://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0004-27492014000500276

Selim, B. J., Surani, S. R., & Ramar, K. (2014, December). Role of preoperative screening for adult patients for obstructive sleep apnea. Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25485922

Trikalinos, T. A., Ip, S., Raman, G., Cepeda, M. S., Balk, E. M., D’Ambrosio, C., & Lau, J. (n.d.). Home Diagnosis of Obstructive Sleep Apnea-Hypopnea Syndrome [Internet]. Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25473717

Atan, D., Özcan, K. M., İkincioğulları, A., Köseoğlu, S., Çetin, M. A., Ensari, S., & Dere, H. (2015, September). The effect of obstructive sleep apnea syndrome and continuous positive airway pressure treatment on voice performance. Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25487313

J, F., W., Y., L, L., X, Z., H, W., . . . Y, W. (n.d.). Beijing Institute of Heart Lung and Blood Vessel Diseases, Beijing Anzhen Hospital, Capital Medical University, No. 2nd, Anzhen Road, Beijing, 100029, China. Retrieved from https://europepmc.org/abstract/med/25487312

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