Bappi Lahiri, a veteran singer, died in Mumbai after a prolonged illness. He was suffering from obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). Obstructive Sleep Apnea, or OSA, is a type of sleep disorder. Here is everything you need to know about the disease.
What is Obstructive Sleep Apnea?
OSA is a condition in which the upper airway repeatedly collapses while sleeping. It’s the most prevalent respiratory issue with sleep. It happens when the muscles that support your tongue and soft palate relax. Your airway narrows or even closes as a result, cutting off your breathing for a brief period. There are three forms of sleep apnea: central, obstructive, and complex.
What causes Obstructive Sleep Apnea?
- Obesity hypoventilation syndrome, a breathing disorder in people with obesity.
- Lung diseases including asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and pulmonary fibrosis.
- A stroke can block brain connections to your chest muscles and airway causing disruptions.
- Pregnancy.
- Failure of the heart or kidneys can cause fluid to accumulate in the neck and restrict the upper airway.
Symptoms:
The majority of persons with OSA complain about being sleepy during the day. OSA results in bouts of reduced oxygen delivery to the brain and other regions of the body, resulting in poor sleep quality. This results in tiredness during the day and a lack of clarity in the morning. Some major symptoms include:
- Excessive daytime sleepiness
- Loud snoring
- Observed episodes of stopped breathing during sleep
- Abrupt awakenings accompanied by gasping or choking
- Awakening with a dry mouth or sore throat
- Morning headache
- Difficulty concentrating during the day
- Mood changes, such as depression or irritability
- High blood pressure
- Decreased libido
Diagnosis:
- Polysomnography: The patient sleeps at the hospital overnight. He or she is connected to a number of monitoring devices that records physiologic characteristics during a polysomnography. Sleep-disordered breathing, as well as a variety of other sleep disorders, can be detected by patterns of physiologic abnormalities. The PSG monitors the activity of many organ systems that are linked to sleep while you sleep.
- ECG: During the sleep study, a single lead ECG monitors your heart rate and rhythm by recording electrical impulses from your heart.
- Oximetry: A pulse oximeter is clipped onto a thin, blood-flowing region of your body, such as a fingertip or earlobe. The oximeter measures oxygen saturation level of your blood. It uses a small emitter with red and infrared LEDs. This level may drop during apnea episodes.
What are the treatments available for OSA?
- Weight loss: People with OSA who are also obese are frequently advised to lose weight and exercise. Lose weight to reduce the severity of OSA, even if it does not lead to complete remission. (https://www.curlygirldesign.com/) Losing weight can help you lower your blood pressure, enhance your quality of life, and sleep less throughout the day.
- Continuous positive airway pressure: The initial line of treatment for OSA is CPAP therapy. It’s takes place through a nighttime face mask. During the night, the face mask gently distributes positive airflow to keep the airways open. The open airways are open by the positive airflow.
- Bilevel positive airway pressure: If CPAP therapy is ineffective, bilevel positive airway pressure machines are sometimes in use to treat OSA. BPAP machines, also known as BiPAP machines, feature two pressure settings that respond to your breathing. This refers to the difference in pressure between breathing and exhaling.
- Surgery: In adult patients with OSA, there is no unanimity on whether surgery is necessary. When CPAP or BPAP devices or an oral appliance aren’t working, you might want to seek surgical therapy. People with OSA who have a significant, surgically correctable upper airway obstructive lesion may find surgical treatment to be the most beneficial.