Central Sleep Apnea

 In central sleep apnea, the regions of the brain which are responsible for regulating sleep are dysfunctional in some way, and as a result there may be any number of times thoroughout the sleeping period when the sleeper stops breathing.The person who has central sleep apnea lacks the normal controls which regulate breathing found in the healthy person. A healthy person's response to a drop in their oxygen level, or an increase in carbon dioxide will involve immediate stimulation of the respiratory centers in their brains, and normal breathing is resumed.

For the person with central sleep apnea, the basic neurological controls fail to give the signal to inhale, and so breathing stops, they do not struggle to regain their breath, nor awaken with every disturbance in breathing like those who have obstructive sleep apnea.Those who have central sleep apnea lack the respiratory response to changing blood levels of the respiratory gases, and so fail to take the necessary breath.

The amount of damage to the brain during these apnea periods depends on the length of time the person fails to take a breath. If the period without breathing is long enough, death may result. There is a possibility of seizures being triggered in those who have never experienced them before.

Heart failure is the most common cause of central sleep apnea, a large percentage of people with heart failure experience central sleep apnea, the weak heart fails to pump the blood efficiently, resulting in an imbalance of respiratory gasses causing Cheyne-Stokes respiration. This abnormal pattern or respiration is characterized by alternating periods of apnea, followed by deep rapid breathing.

Central sleep apnea may result from brain trauma caused by a stroke, accident or brain tumor. Neuromuscular diseases, spinal cord injuries, or muscular dystrophy may also result in impairment of the normal healthy respiratory response.

How would central sleep apnea be treated?  If the condition was a result of heart failure, then the heart failure would need to be treated, if the central sleep apnea resulted from brain damage through trauma or stroke, then many and varied strategies for treatment would need to be employed, depending on the extent and location of the damage.

Some people may have a mixed apnea disorder which involves a combination of obstructive sleep apnea, and central sleep apnea. There is a dysfunction of the respiratory response in the brain, and obstruction of the air passages.

Many prescription drugs  may cause central sleep apnea, opiates, barbiturates, tranquilizers, and also alcohol if enough is taken, any of these may result in apnea events. Whatever may be the cause of central sleep apnea, the result is the same, the sleeper stops breathing because the centers which control respiration are dysfunctional.

 Read more:Sleep Problem Solutions