What is Sleep Apnea?

The American Heritage Dictionary defines sleep apnea as "A temporary suspension of breathing occurring repeatedly during sleep that often affects overweight people or those having an obstruction in the breathing tract, an abnormally small throat opening, or a neurological disorder."

The current definition in Wikipedia (the human edited encyclopedia) is this:

Sleep apnea (alternatively sleep apnoea) is a sleep disorder characterized by pauses in breathing during sleep. These episodes, called apneas (literally, "without breath"), each last long enough so one or more breaths are missed, and occur repeatedly throughout sleep. There are two distinct forms of sleep apnea: Central and Obstructive. Breathing is interrupted by the lack of effort in Central Sleep Apnea, but from a physical block to airflow despite effort in Obstructive Sleep Apnea. In Mixed Sleep Apnea, both types of events occur. Regardless of type, the individual affected with sleep apnea is rarely (if ever) aware of having difficulty breathing, even upon awakening. Sleep apnea is recognized as a problem by others witnessing the individual during episodes, or is suspected because of its effects on the body (sequelae). The definitive diagnosis of sleep apnea is made by polysomnography.


The Wikipedia content referenced in this article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Sleep apnea".