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Wed, 22 Oct 2008

Apnea

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The term apnea describes a complete stop or pause in breathing, while hypopnea describes a slowdown in breathing. Apnea can be further defined as central or peripheral.

In central apnea, the nervous system fails to adequately control breathing, thus leading to irregular sleep patterns and decreased oxygen levels.

In contrast, peripheral apnea is due to the tissues (tongue, tonsils, and palate) blocking the airway leading to decreased oxygen levels. This blockage, or obstruction, is the cause of obstructive sleep apnea.

The character and severity of your obstructive sleep apnea can be determined via a sleep study. The sleep study yields information regarding sleep cycles, oxygen levels, and the number and length of the apneic and hypopneic episodes. This information is used to determine the Respiratory Distress Index, or RDI, and the degree of oxygen desaturation.

* The Respiratory Distress Index is defined as the number of breathing pauses (apneas) and the number of breathing slowdowns (hypopneas) per hour. Normal RDI is less than 10 events per hour. An RDI of 16 or greater is considered diagnostic for OSA.

* The oxygen desaturation is the degree in which blood oxygen levels drop due to decreased breathing. Maximal oxygen saturation is 100%, with normal patients maintaining saturations greater than 90% while asleep. In contrast, patients with OSA experience significant oxygen desaturations, with levels falling well below 90%.

Obstructive sleep apnea is thus defined as peripheral obstruction leading to decreased oxygen levels, and is defined by abnormalities in the RDI and percentage of oxygen saturation.

So I guess high numbers == bad.
The central apnea concerns me more than the obstructive, The UPPP operation targets the obstructive, but I'm not sure I've been told what they do to resolve the central..
The high RDI numbers are also bad,

Posted at: 8:49 am

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