Sleep Apnea is a sleep disorder that is characterized by repeated starts and stops in breathing throughout sleep. It is a potentially serious health condition, especially if left untreated for many years.
The word “apnea” comes from the greek word “apnos”, meaning “without breathing”. So the term sleep apnea quite literally means “sleep without breathing”.
There are two main types of sleep apnea: Obstructive sleep apnea, and central sleep apnea.
Central vs Obstructive Sleep Apnea: Compared
The two primary types of sleep apnea are Obstructive Sleep Apnea which is the most common, and Central Sleep Apnea, which is much less common.
What is Obstructive Sleep Apnea?
Obstructive sleep apnea is quite literally just what it sounds like. When you suffer from obstructive sleep apnea, it means that you have a physical obstruction blocking your breathing while you sleep. While sleep apnea is often caused by increased soft tissue in the neck/throat due to being overweight, there are many other possible causes and contributing factors to having obstructive sleep apnea include, but are not limited to:
- Being overweight or obese.
- A neck diameter of 18″+ for men, or 17″+ for women, which is often tied to being overweight.
- Enlarged tonsils or adenoids.
- Significant overbite.
- Conditions such as Down’s Syndrome, resulting in an enlarged tongue and decreased muscle tone in the neck.
What is Central Sleep Apnea?
Central Sleep Apnea is caused by the brain not sending proper signals during sleep to the muscles that control breathing. There are many causes and types of central sleep apnea. Keep in mind, a person can also suffer from mixed sleep apnea, which is a combination of both obstructive and central. The problem is that the central version is not caused by readily measurable metrics such as weight or neck diameter. There are also many different types of central sleep apnea, including;
- Cheyne-Stokes Breathing: When your breathing speeds up, slows down and stops in cycles. Common in patients with heart failure or stroke.
- Narcotic Induced Apnea: Many are aware that opioid overdose can cause a person to stop breathing and therefore be fatal. This phenomenon is essentially a drug-induced central sleep apnea, where the brain cannot properly tell the rest of the body to breath correctly.
- Treatment-Emergent Apnea: Interestingly, about 5% to 15% of patients being treated for obstructive sleep apnea with CPAP, end up acquiring central sleep apnea.
- Medical Condition-Induced Apnea: This is central sleep apnea acquired after a medical condition such as heart failure, stroke, parkinson’s disease, kidney failure etc.
- Idiopathic Central Sleep Apnea: To experience central sleep apnea, but with no clear cause.
Check out this article from WebMD for more information on the causes of CSA.
Can You die from sleep apnea?
It’s a tough question to answer directly with a yes or no, so we’ll look a bit deeper. Prolonged untreated sleep apnea can lead to issues such as heart disease, stroke, and sudden cardiac death.
Many assume that one can suffocate in their sleep due to an apnea event (a stop in breathing while asleep) but this isn’t really the case. When your body notices it is not getting enough oxygen, you will automatically be forced to wake up. But just because this happens, does not mean that these intermittent stops to breathing don’t lead to the previously mentioned health problems. And so it’s not that you die from sleep apnea in and of itself, but rather the inevitable health problems that come with sleep apnea.
With sleep apnea affecting over 20 million Americans per year alone (About 6%+ of our population), it’s highly likely that you know someone who is suffering from this sleep disorder, or whose life was significantly shorted by it. Many high-profile celebrities have passed away due in part to complications caused by untreated sleep apnea.
Celebrities Who (May Have) Died From Sleep apnea
As was previously stated, it’s tough to say who died as a direct result of their condition, because that’s just not how sleep apnea deaths occur. However, many famous people are believed to have died prematurely due to this sleep disorder. The list (left to right) includes but is certainly not limited to; Carrie Fisher (Actress), Reggie White (Pro Athlete), James Gandolfini (Actor), Antonin Scalia (U.S. Supreme Court Justice), Jerry Garcia (Musician, The Grateful Dead). Even with the tremendous medical resources that came with their status, it did not stop sleep apnea from taking tolls on their lives, and ultimately shortening them.
In Conclusion:
I hope that this article did a good job of covering your questions on what this condition actually is, as well as the major differences between obstructive, central and mixed versions. Continue to the next article below to find out about the signs and symptoms of sleep apnea. Thanks for reading!
Sleep Apnea Articles And Resources:
Sleep Apnea Information (Introduction)
What is Sleep Apnea? (You are here)
Signs and Symptoms of Sleep Apnea
Diagnosing Sleep Apnea: The Steps