Why Treat Sleep Apnoea?
Sleep apnoea is a sleep disorder in which a person’s breathing repeatedly stops and starts during sleep. These pauses in breathing, called apnoeas, can last for a few seconds to a minute and may occur many times throughout the night, disrupting sleep and reducing oxygen levels in the blood.
There are three main types of sleep apnoea
1.Obstructive Sleep Apnoea (OSA): This is the most common form, where the muscles in the throat relax excessively during sleep, causing a temporary blockage of the airway.
2. Central Sleep Apnoea (CSA): In this type, the brain fails to send proper signals to the muscles that control breathing, resulting in pauses in breathing.
3. Mixed (Complex) Sleep Apnoea: A combination of both obstructive and central sleep apnoea.
Common symptoms of sleep apnoea include loud snoring, daytime fatigue, morning headaches, and difficulty concentrating. If left untreated, sleep apnoea can increase the risk of serious health issues such as high blood pressure, heart disease, stroke, and diabetes.
Sleep Apnoea is a silent disease
While most patients with sleep apnoea present with noticeable symptoms, such as snoring or daytime sleepiness, some individuals, especially those with severe sleep apnoea, may have dangerously low oxygen saturation levels at night without displaying any obvious signs. Women, in particular, often present with fatigue rather than classic sleep apnoea symptoms.
What happens with untreated sleep apnoea
In addition to fragmented and poor-quality sleep, the most significant concern with untreated severe sleep apnoea is the increased risk of serious cardiovascular issues. These include heart attacks, strokes, and right heart failure, all of which can result from prolonged periods of low oxygen saturation during sleep.
Sleep apnoea is only the tip of the ice-burg
Sleep apnoea often appears to be just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to metabolic syndrome. Many people with sleep apnoea also have underlying conditions such as heart disease, diabetes, gout, hyperlipidemia, and insulin resistance, among others. It is common for sleep apnoea to be identified when a cardiologist refers a patient for sleep studies, particularly when they encounter challenging cases of high blood pressure or arrhythmias like atrial fibrillation that are difficult to manage. This shows the strong connection between sleep apnoea and broader metabolic and cardiovascular issues.
At-Home Sleep Studies: This is one of the best methods for diagnosing sleep apnoea. It is a simple and non-invasive test that can be done in the comfort of your own home. The device, roughly the size of your palm, uses small electrodes similar to ECG electrodes to monitor various parameters such as breathing, oxygen levels, brain waves, and heart rate throughout the night. Modern home sleep studies use the same advanced equipment that is employed for in-lab sleep studies, making them highly accurate and convenient.