Sleep Disordered Breathing

Sleep disordered breathing is defined as sleep disturbances produced by abnormal breathing patterns. Snoring and sleep apnea are two of the most common sleep disorders.

Snoring

Snoring is defined as “breathing during sleep with hoarse or harsh sounds as caused by the vibrating of the soft palate.” When you inhale during sleep, your soft palate or uvula may vibrate against the back of the throat or the base of your tongue, producing the vibration noise we refer to as snoring. The vibration is caused by the fluttering of loose tissue as you breathe, making inhalation more difficult. If you snore, it is a clear sign that your breathing passage is partially blocked, resulting in abnormal breathing.

Depending on the amount of air passing through the breathing passage and the speed at which the throat is vibrating, snoring may be extremely loud, soft as a whisper, or somewhere in between. Unfortunately, snoring can be a marker of sleep apnea, a risk factor for vascular complications such as hypertension. Snoring can cause:

  • Headaches
  • Fatigue
  • Difficulty in concentration
  • Reduced work performance

The effects of snoring can also annoy the bed partner, whose sleep quality may also take a toll due to their mate’s snoring.

Sleep Apnea

Obstructive sleep apnea is a disorder in which breathing is briefly and repeatedly interrupted during sleep. The work “apnea” literally means “without breath.” Apnea is defined as a cessation of breath that lasts at least ten seconds. Obstructive apneas occur when the muscles in the back of the throat are not able to keep the throat open, despite efforts to breathe. This causes blockages in the airway and breathing interruptions, or apneas.

Obstructive sleep apneas can result in fragmented sleep and lowered levels of oxygen in the blood. Although the connection between sleep apnea and heart disease is not entirely clear, we know that people with cardio-vascular problems such as high blood pressure, heart attack, congestive heart failure, cardiac arrhythmia and stroke have a high prevalence for sleep apnea. This is why taking a patient’s blood pressure every office visit can help screen for OSA. The combination of sleep disturbance and oxygen starvation can result in multiple problems, such as:

  • Heart disease
  • Hypertension
  • Stroke
  • Learning and memory difficulties
  • Depression
  • Automobile accidents
  • Sexual dysfunction

Obstructive sleep apnea can be fatal.