Types of S.A.

Diagnosis

Standards Treatments

Alternative Treatments

Resources

Keep in Touch

[?] Subscribe To This Site

Central Sleep Apnea

How to Treat Central Sleep Apnea

Central sleep apnea occurs when the airway is NOT blocked, but the brain fails to signal the muscles to breathe because there is an underlying problem with the nerves that control breathing.

Did you know that central apnea is different from obstructive sleep apnea?

We have the same breathing disorder - the person stops breathing during sleep.

However, the breathing problem comes from the brain, and not from the upper airway.

So...even if you don't have an obstruction of the upper airway, you can still have sleep apnea.

The Mechanism of Central Sleep Apnea Syndrome

A person with central apnea has issues with the respiratory center from the brain. This center controls the chest muscles to make breathing movements.

When the respiratory center stops working during sleep, then your breathing stops, too. The brain does not respond to the changes of the respiratory gas levels from the blood (oxygen and carbon dioxide).

YOUR Sleep Apnea HELP Line
Click Here to Share Your Question with Us!

In central apnea, you stop breathing in sleep for a period of time (at least 10 seconds), but there is no effort to breathe at all, like in obstructive sleep apnea. Therefore snoring is not present in central apnea.

Typically, you will wake up several times at night, often with the sensation of gasping or choking during sleep. If this waking up episodes are frequent enough to cause disruption of your sleep, then you may feel very tired during daytime.

Causes of Central Sleep Apnea

The cause of central apnea is unknown, but there are risk factors that can influence the development, such as:

gender - there is an increased prevalence in the elderly

sleep state

thyroid disease

neurological or cardiological abnormalities

narcolepsy

Cheyne Stokes respiration - gasping for air, sometimes more than 40 seconds, often seen in patients with heart failure.

Central apnea is often seen in people with panic about falling asleep.

They breathe quickly which results in low levels of carbon dioxide in the blood.

This is a problem. When they fall asleep, the breathing reflex fails to start, because of the low levels of carbon dioxide.

Nevertheless, central apnea is most commonly seen in persons with neurological disorders that affect the control center of respiration, such as:

lesions of the brain stem

cardiovascular disorders

cerebrovascular disease

lesions of the spinal cord

Central apnea can also occur in infants who are prematurely born. Such symptoms generally disappear in the first six months of age.

However, there is an increased risk for Sudden Infant Death Syndrome in infants who suffer from central sleep apnea.

Central Sleep Apnea Symptoms

The symptoms of the central apnea are similar to obstructive apnea :

shortness of breath

insomnia complaints

poor nocturnal sleep

awakening during sleep

excessive daytime sleepiness (EDS)

The snoring is less common in central apnea, but it may be a symptom of mixed sleep apnea.

In children, central apnea syndrome is usually accompanied by a change in their facial color, such as a bluish or purplish skin, and they may also a change in their muscle tone like a limp body.

Central Sleep Apnea Treatment

Unfortunately, you can have severe health problems if you don't treat yourself.

The long-term effects of sleep apnea central disorder are:

abnormal heart rhythm,

heart failure,

lung complications,

enlargement of the heart.

To find if you have central apnea syndrome, you should take the test with polysomnography, where the doctor will see how many apneic episodes you have in one night of sleep.

A multiple sleep latency test can be very useful, because it may demonstrate if you have excessive daytime sleepiness.

The treatment for central apnea is based on medicine therapy and breathing machines.

For some people with central sleep apnea, CPAP therapy may not work. A nasal CPAP may aggravate the condition of the disease.

Assisted ventilation devices, such as negative pressure ventilator, the cuirass respirator, are usually required if you have a severe central sleep apnea syndrome. However, this ventilator may induce obstructive apnea episodes, so it should be used with caution.

If you have heart problems, such as cardiac failure, the treatment for your heart may greatly improve central sleep apnea syndrome.

On the other hand, medicine therapy is a major advantage in the treatment of central apnea sleep disorder, but it requires much research in the field.