Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes

Q and A: What is a tonsillectomy and who needs one?

My 4-year-old son has had many episodes of painful sore throats, and his doctor recommended that his tonsils be removed. Why do kids have more trouble with their tonsils? Is there a right age to have the surgery done? I've ...

Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes

Sleep apnea associated with increased risk for long COVID

Sleep apnea may significantly increase the risk for long COVID in adults, according to a study led by the National Institutes of Health's RECOVER Initiative and supported by NYU Langone Health as home to the effort's Clinical ...

Neuroscience

Sleep apnea, lack of deep sleep linked to worse brain health

People who have sleep apnea and spend less time in deep sleep may be more likely to have brain biomarkers that have been linked to an increased risk of stroke, Alzheimer's disease and cognitive decline, according to new research ...

Neuroscience

Poor sleep can be linked to stroke

A new study finds that sleep problems can increase someone's risk of stroke. Sleep problems can include too little sleep (less than five hours), too much sleep (more than nine hours), poor quality, difficulty getting to sleep ...

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Sleep apnea

Sleep apnea (or sleep apnoea in British English) is a sleep disorder characterized by pauses in breathing during sleep. Each episode, called an apnea (Greek: ἄπνοια (ápnoia), from α- (a-), privative, πνέειν (pnéein), to breathe), lasts long enough so that one or more breaths are missed, and such episodes occur repeatedly throughout sleep. The standard definition of any apneic event includes a minimum 10 second interval between breaths, with either a neurological arousal (a 3-second or greater shift in EEG frequency, measured at C3, C4, O1, or O2), a blood oxygen desaturation of 3-4% or greater, or both arousal and desaturation. Sleep apnea is diagnosed with an overnight sleep test called a polysomnogram, or a "Sleep Study".

Clinically significant levels of sleep apnea are defined as five or more episodes per hour of any type of apnea (from the polysomnogram). There are three distinct forms of sleep apnea: central, obstructive, and complex (i.e., a combination of central and obstructive) constituting 0.4%, 84% and 15% of cases respectively. Breathing is interrupted by the lack of respiratory effort in central sleep apnea; in obstructive sleep apnea, breathing is interrupted by a physical block to airflow despite respiratory effort. In complex (or "mixed") sleep apnea, there is a transition from central to obstructive features during the events themselves.

Regardless of type, the individual with sleep apnea is rarely 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). Symptoms may be present for years (or even decades) without identification, during which time the sufferer may become conditioned to the daytime sleepiness and fatigue associated with significant levels of sleep disturbance.

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