Question 107 of 433
What is sleep apnea?
The short answer
A condition in which the airway collapses again and again during sleep, cutting off breathing for ten seconds or more each time, sometimes hundreds of times a night.
Each pause drops your oxygen and jolts your brain awake just enough to reopen the airway. You do not remember it. Your heart does. Every episode releases a burst of adrenaline. Multiply that by 30 episodes an hour, every night, for twenty years.
The common form is obstructive sleep apnea. A rarer form, central sleep apnea, comes from the brain’s breathing signal and is seen with heart failure, stroke, and opioid use.
“This book is for education. It is not medical advice, and reading it does not make you my patient or create a doctor-patient relationship.” From the book’s medical disclaimer. Full disclaimer
ESTABLISHED CLINICAL KNOWLEDGE — Sleep apnea mechanisms and classification.Evidence grade (draft mapping)EEstablished clinical knowledgePart 8, Q107 · Part sources
From Longevity Unmasked by Afshine Ash Emrani, MD, FACC. Medical disclaimer. This book is for education. It is not medical advice, and reading it does not make you my patient or create a doctor-patient relationship. Nothing here is meant to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. Medicine is personal: a test, drug, supplement, or exercise plan that helps one person can harm another. Do not start, stop, or change any medication or treatment because of something you read in these pages. Talk with a licensed clinician who knows your history first. If you think you are having a medical emergency, call 911. The author disclaims responsibility for any loss or harm arising from use of the information in this book.