• You feel sleepy or tired even after longer period of sleep
• You are sleepy while driving
• You suffer from frequent morning headaches
• You often wake up with sore throat
• You were told by somebody that you snore
• You were told that your balanced breathing rhythm occasionally stops(interrupts) during sleep period
• You wake up sometimes suddenly in the middle of the night by short breath or gasping
• You have frequent nightmares
• You have problem with control of urinating
• You have high blood pressure without obvious cause of it
In case you answered ‘yes’ three or more than three items, there is a high possibility that you suffer from apnea during sleeping period (sleep apnea). We recommend you visiting a doctor as soon as possible, especially the expert for sleep disorders who will perform adequate tests and take necessary steps for your medical treatment.
Till practically recent period of time it has been customary to treat snoring only as a fine topic for jokes or only a small problem for a petty spouse who cannot sleep because of the significant one’s snoring.
However, last four decades intensive researches have revealed that snoring may be one of the key symptoms indicating some very serious or much more serious problem – sleep apnea. This common and frequent sleep disorder consists of periodical interruptions of breathing that can be obstructive or central type in character.
In case of obstructive apnea soft tissues of the upper airways become weak and loose, bringing to collapse and blocking the free flow of air.
It is considered that the breathing disorder is clinically significant in cases when five or more such breathing stops (interruptions) occur during one hour in the course of night sleep, as well as in case that each interruption of breathing lasts longer than ten seconds.
Apnea of the obstructive type is much more common (nine of ten cases of apnea are caused by the obstruction of upper airways). It is estimated that between two and four percents of the population suffer from this disorder (about 300 000 people in the country similar to Serbia in size and population), while more than65% of all cases are men. There is a significant number of sleep apnea cases found in children.
Most efficient method of apnea treatment is CPAP (continuing positive air pressure). There are also various devices (auto-CPAP, BPAP) which deliver air under various pressure, primarily releasing and making breathing out easier.
Other methods include the use of special jaw prosthesis, surgical intervention, behavioral interventions and some drugs and medicines.
Clinical examination is necessary, but often not sufficient for detecting how serious the disorder is. Due to this fact it is necessary to perform measuring of breathing function in the course of sleeping period including the use of special devices (so called polisomnography).
Most important consequences of sleep apnea represent increased sleepiness during the day and cardiovascular disorders. Increased daily sleepiness and fatigue, apart from snoring, represent most obvious symptoms and we can easily notice them. Persons who suffer from apnea also often complain of feeling as if sleepless in spite of the fact they actually do sleep long enough.
Most common cardiovascular disorders:
• Infarction of myocardium
• Heart weakness or failure
• Cerebral-vascular disorders
• Heart arrhythmia
• Increased blood pressure
• Lungs hypertension
• Left heart ventricle disorder
• Sudden death
GLOSSARY
Obstructive apnea (sleep apnea):
• Consequence of upper airways obstruction
• Brings to interruptions of breathing and decreasing of oxygen level in blood and
• Partial wakening up
• In most cases followed by snoring
• In long term, it can bring to many cardiovascular complications (including increased blood pressure and serious arrhythmia)
• May bring to shortening of lifetime
Hypopnea:
• Partial (incomplete) obstruction of upper airways
Central apnea:
• Breathing interruption caused by the absence of central (brain) breathing stimulation
• Brings to oxygen level drop and carbon-dioxide increase in blood, as well as to frequent incomplete wakening up
Polisomnography:
• Tests for electro-activity of brain, breathing function, heart function and muscular activity during sleeping condition including the use of special devices designed for such examination
CPAP (continuing positive air pressure):
• Device which is designed to put air in, under increased pressure, used for overcoming the obstruction of upper breathing airways. It consists of special ventilator, plastic tube and a mask to cover nose or mouth, or both nose and mouth.
“Dr Ristić” Health Centre is equipped with latest model of PSG device XLTEK made by Canadian produces. The device is used for diagnostics of all forms of sleep disorders.
For all additional information, please contact us as follows: Call Centre 011 2693 287
Dom Zdravlja "Dr Ristić"
