http://www.gatterson.com - I struggled with sleep apnea for many years and my wife struggled with my snoring. Now after losing 86 lbs, I no longer suffer with sleep apnea or the symptoms that accompany it (Loud and chronic snoring, Choking, snorting, or gasping during sleep, Long pauses in breathing, Daytime sleepiness, no matter how much time you spend in bed) and you don't have to either.
To hear more about my weight loss, Goto my Facebook page @ http://www.facebook.com/pages/Gattersons-BeachBody-Journey/194878950527138
Sleep apnea (or sleep apnoea in British English) is a sleep disorder characterized by abnormal pauses in breathing or instances of abnormally low breathing, during sleep. Each pause in breathing, called an apnea, can last from a few seconds to minutes, and may occur 5 to 30 times or more an hour. Similarly, each abnormally low breathing event is called a hypopnea. Sleep apnea is diagnosed with an overnight sleep test called a polysomnogram, or "sleep study".
There are three forms of sleep apnea: central (CSA), obstructive (OSA), and complex or mixed sleep apnea (i.e., a combination of central and obstructive) constituting 0.4%, 84% and 15% of cases respectively. In CSA, breathing is interrupted by a lack of respiratory effort; in OSA, breathing is interrupted by a physical block to airflow despite respiratory effort, and snoring is common.
Regardless of type, an individual with sleep apnea is rarely aware of having difficulty breathing, even upon awakening. Sleep apnea is recognized as a problem by others witnessing the individual during episodes or is suspected because of its effects on the body (sequelae). Symptoms may be present for years (or even decades) without identification, during which time the sufferer may become conditioned to the daytime sleepiness and fatigue associated with significant levels of sleep disturbance.
How can sleep apnea cause death? Death can result directly from apneic events or indirectly from health issues adversely affected by the sleep apnea. Death can also result from accidents that are due to exhaustion from sleep apnea.
Oxygen is needed for cells to survive. Oxygen enters the body by respirations. Respirations are voluntary and involuntary. Voluntary is when you consciously control a function. Involuntary is when a body function is automatic. You can stop yourself from breathing, but only until you pass out, then your autonomic system takes over and tells the body to breathe. When sleeping, we automatically breathe.
Oxygen intake is interrupted in the patient who suffers from sleep apnea. Sometimes the apnea is caused by a short circuit in the brain. The autonomic system isn't being told to keep the body breathing.
Other times the apnea is caused by an obstruction of the tongue or collapse of the airway. If air doesn't enter the lungs, oxygen cannot be extracted and after about 4 minutes cells will begin to die. If enough cells die, the body will not be able to compensate and it will result in death.
Hundreds of short breathing cessations each night harms the body. Oxygen saturations drop over and over again while carbon dioxide builds up. This puts stress on the heart.
The heart will enlarge over time if the sleep apnea is allowed to go on untreated. Blood vessels constrict causing high blood pressure. Sometimes it will also result in a stroke if too much pressure causes a vessel to burst. If the bleeding from the stroke cannot be controlled, it will also result in death.
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Breathing and Sleeping on the Backby MarkGlass1366 views
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