Abstract

A REVIEW ON OBSTRUCTIVE SLEEP APNEA: CAUSES, SYMPTOMS AND ITS MANAGEMENT

Soumik Laha*, Shikha Thakur, Dr. Pratibha Bhowmick and Dipayan Rath

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Abstract

Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is a sleep-related breathing disorder in which airflow is reduced or stopped completely despite an ongoing effort to breathe. Various community-based studies reveal that symptomatic OSA affects 2% of women and 4% of men; however, the prevalence of asymptomatic OSA is fairly significant, affecting 20% - 30% of the middle-aged population. It happens when the muscles in the back of the throat relax during sleep, causing soft tissue to collapse and restrict the upper airway. During sleep, this causes partial pauses (hypopneas) and complete pauses (apneas) in breathing that persist for at least 10 seconds. The majority of pauses are between 10 and 30 seconds, but some might continue up to a minute or longer. This can result in significant drops in blood oxygen saturation, with oxygen levels dropping by up to 40% or more in extreme cases. The brain alerts the body to a lack of oxygen, prompting a brief waking from sleep and restoring normal breathing. In a single night, this sequence can occur hundreds of times. The outcome is a disturbed sleep pattern that frequently leads to excessive daytime tiredness. When airflow is limited or impeded, most people with OSA snore loudly and repeatedly, with periods of silence. When their airway reopens, they make coughing, snorting, or gasping sounds. The apnea-hypopnea index is a typical way to measure sleep apnea (AHI). This is a figure that indicates the total number of apneas and hypopneas that occur per hour of sleep. Treatment options for sleep apnea include Weight loss, positional therapy, oral devices, continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP), and upper airway surgery among alternatives for treating sleep apnea. The most effective and extensively used therapy is CPAP.

Keywords: Obstructive sleep apnea, Continuous Positive Airway Pressure, prevalence, prevention, Complications, risk factors, symptoms, treatment.