Sleep apnea

Sleep apnea: Introduction

Sleep apnea refers to a temporary cessation of breathing during sleep, that usually repeats in a cycle. In children, common causes include tonsilitis and adenoiditis. In adults, the condition is often related to obesity, but it can also be caused by other disorders or structural defects in the throat. The most common type, Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), occurs where something physically obstructs the airway.

In many cases, the person is unaware of the condition except perhaps of their snoring. This is a potentially serious airway disorder where a person suffers repetitive difficulty breathing during sleep, and this lack of breathing causes complications. Sleep apnea causes serious complications such as hypertension and can be life-threatening.

Symptoms of Sleep apnea

• Excessive daytime sleepiness
• Social problems
• Emotional problems
• Restless sleep
• Loud snoring
• more symptoms...»

See full list of 29 symptoms of Sleep apnea

Home Diagnostic Testing

Home medical testing related to Sleep apnea:

• Child Behavior: Home Testing
  • ADHD -- Home Test Kits
  • Concentration -- Home Testing
• Child General Health: Home Testing
  • Asthma-Related Home Tests
  • Home Allergy Tests
  • Home Cold & Flu Tests
  • Home Diabetes Tests
  • Home Drug Tests
  • Sleep Apnea Tests
  • Home Strep A Tests
  • Home Hearing Tests
  • Home Ear Infection Tests
• Cold & Flu: Home Testing:
  • Home Fever Tests
  • Home Ear Infection Test Kits
  • Home Flu Tests
• Sleep Disorders: Home Testing
  • Home Sleep Tests
  • Sleep Apnea Diagnostic Tests
• more tests...»

Sleep apnea: Complications

Review possible medical complications related to Sleep apnea:

• Snoring
• Hypertension
• Pulmonary hypertension
• Cardiac problems
• Irregular heartbeat
• High blood pressure
• Heart attack
• more complications...»

Medical Textbooks Online about Sleep apnea

Book excerpts: Copyright © 2008 Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. All rights reserved.

Diagnostic Tests for Sleep apnea

• Sleep studies
• Polysomnography
• Multiple Sleep Latency Test (MSLT)
• more tests...»

Read more about tests for Sleep apnea

Wrongly Diagnosed with Sleep apnea?

• Misdiagnosis of Sleep apnea
• Failure to diagnose Sleep apnea
• Hidden causes of Sleep apnea (possibly wrongly diagnosed)
• Undiagnosed: Sleep apnea

Sleep apnea: Medical Mistakes

• Insomnia -- Health Mistakes
• Sleep Disorders -- Health Mistakes
• more mistakes...»

Sleep apnea: Marketplace Products, Discounts & Offers

Products, offers and promotion categories available for Sleep apnea:

• Sleeping & Insomnia
• more product offers...»

Sleep apnea: Undiagnosed Conditions

Commonly undiagnosed diseases in related medical categories:

• Child Health Disorders -- serious medical disorders that may be undiagnosed:
  • Autism -- Undiagnosed
  • ADHD -- Undiagnosed
  • Whooping Cough -- Undiagnosed
  • Croup -- Undiagnosed
  • Appendicitis -- Undiagnosed
  • Type 1 Diabetes -- Undiagnosed
  • Sleep Apnea -- Undiagnosed
  • Middle Ear Infection -- Undiagnosed
  • Epilepsy -- Undiagnosed
• more undiagnosed conditions...»

Misdiagnosis and Sleep apnea

Mild worm infections undiagnosed in children: Human worm infestations, esp. threadworm, can be overlooked in some cases, because it may cause only mild or even absent symptoms. Although...read more »

Mesenteric adenitis misdiagnosed as appendicitis in children: Because appendicitis is one of the more feared conditions for a child with abdominal pain, it can be over-diagnosed (it can, of course, also fail to be diagnosed...read more »

RLS sleep disorder causing night-time leg sensations often misdiagnosed: A common but relatively unknown sleep-related disorder called Restless Leg Syndrome (RLS) is often misdiagnosed. The typical symptoms are...read more »

Blood pressure cuffs misdiagnose hypertension in children: One known misdiagnosis issue with hyperension, arises in relation to the simple equipment used to test blood pressure. The "cuff" around the arm to...read more »

Children with migraine often misdiagnosed: A migraine often fails to be correctly diagnosed in pediatric patients. These patients are not the typical migraine sufferers, but migraines can also...read more »

Read more about Misdiagnosis and Sleep apnea

Sleep apnea: Research Doctors & Specialists

Research related physicians and medical specialists:

• Child Health Specialists (Pediatrics):
  • Pediatrics (Child Health Specialist)
  • Adolescent Medicine (Teen Health)
  • Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine
  • Pediatric / Adolescent Psychiatry (Child/Teen Mental Health)
  • Pediatric Allergy and Immunology (Child Allergies / Immune Diseases)
  • Pediatric Cardiology (Child Heart Specialists)
  • Pediatric Critical Care Medicine
  • Pediatric Dentistry (Child Dental Health)
  • Pediatric Dermatology (Child Skin Health)
  • Pediatric Developmental Behavioral Health (Child Behavior)
  • Pediatric Emergency Medicine
  • Pediatric Endocrinology (Child Hormones)
  • Pediatric Gastroenterology (Child Digestive Specialists)
  • Pediatric Hematology / Oncology
  • Pediatric Infectious Disease Medicine
  • Pediatric Medical Toxicology (Child Poisoning)
  • Pediatric Nephrology (Child Kidney Specialists)
  • Pediatric Neurology (Child Brain Specialists)
  • Pediatric Neurosurgery (Child Brain Surgeon)
• more specialists...»

Other doctor, physician and specialist research services:

• Rate Your Doctor Online
• Research Your Doctor Online
• Review Patient Surveys About Your Doctor
• Research local specialists including ratings, affiliations, and sanctions.

Hospitals & Clinics: Sleep apnea

Research quality ratings and patient safety measures for medical facilities in specialties related to Sleep apnea:

• Child Health (Pediatrics) -- Hospital Quality Ratings
• more hospital ratings...»

Hospital & Clinic quality ratings » »

Choosing the Best Hospital: More general information, not necessarily in relation to Sleep apnea, on hospital performance and surgical care quality:

• 50 Best Hospitals Report
• Outstanding Patient Experinece Award Winning Hospitals
• Women's Health Best Hospitals
• Patient Safety
• Hospital Quality and Clinical Excellence Study (2009)

Causes of Sleep apnea

• Obesity
• Common cold
• Sinusitis
• Enlarged tonsils
• Enlarged adenoids
• more causes...»

See full list of 41 causes of Sleep apnea

More information about causes of Sleep apnea:

• Medications, drugs, or substances causing Sleep apnea (7 listings)
• Underlying causes of Sleep apnea
• Sleep apnea as a complication caused by other conditions
• Sleep apnea as a symptom
• Medical news summaries relating to Causes of Sleep apnea

Treatments for Sleep apnea

• Specific treatments
  • Nasal continuous positive airway pressure (nasal CPAP)
  • Dental appliances
  • Decongestants - if blockage is from a stuffy nose or sinuses.
  • Oxygen - somewhat controversial.
• more treatments...»

See full list of 26 treatments for Sleep apnea

News Archives for Sleep apnea

Medical news articles related to Sleep apnea include:

• Neck Size May Affect Severity of Sleep Apnea
• Among Obese Diabetics, Sleep Apnea May Be Common
• New Options Offered for Sleep Apnea
• Exercising Throat Muscles May Relieve Sleep Apnea
• Simpler Sleep Apnea Treatment Seems Effective, Affordable
• more health news...»

Source: HealthDay News

Evidence Based Medicine Research for Sleep apnea

Medical research articles related to Sleep apnea include:

• A randomized controlled trial of nurse-led care for symptomatic moderate-severe obstructive sleep apnea
• Adenotonsillectomy for obstructive sleep apnoea in children
• Oral appliances for obstructive sleep apnoea
• Surgery for obstructive sleep apnoea in adults
• Lifestyle modification for obstructive sleep apnoea
• Educational, supportive and behavioural interventions to improve usage of continuous positive airway pressure machines for adults with obstructive sleep apnoea
• more research...»

Click here to find more evidence-based articles on the TRIP Database

Videos for Sleep apnea

Patient Surveys for Sleep apnea

• Patient Profile Survey
  Take Survey  View Results
• Survey about the symptoms of your Sleep apnea
  Take Survey  View Results

Prognosis for Sleep apnea

Prognosis for Sleep apnea: The major determinants of surgical outcome include the apnea hypopnea index (AHI) and obesity at the time of diagnosis.

More about prognosis of Sleep apnea

Reseach about Sleep apnea

Visit our research pages for current research about Sleep apnea treatments.

Statistics for Sleep apnea

• Medical statistics for Sleep apnea
• Prevalence and incidence statistics for Sleep apnea
• Death and Mortality statistics for Sleep apnea
• Society statistics for Sleep apnea

Sleep apnea: Broader Related Topics

• Sleep disorders
• Sleep disorder
• Under-diagnosed conditions
• more types...»

Types of Sleep apnea

Types of Sleep apnea

• Obstructive sleep apnea - cause by an airway obstruction or narrowing.
• Central sleep apnea - caused by a brain signalling failure.
• more types...»

Read more about Types of Sleep apnea

Rare Types of Sleep apnea:

Rare types of Sleep apnea include:

• Obstructive sleep apnea
• Central sleep apnea
• Mixed apnea
• Apnea of prematurity
• Congenital central hypoventilation syndrome (Ondine's curse)
• more types...»

Stories from Users Related to Sleep apnea

• Are These Conditions Related: Allergic Rhinitis, Sleep Apnea, Asthma, Reactive Airway
• Fibromyalgia-like symptoms from sleep apnea
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• Adult sleep apnea -Tonsil removal?
• Children die from OSA Obstructed Sleep Apnea
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• Sleep Apnea cures
• Post pregnancy sleep apnea
• is this sleep apnea?
• question about sleep apnea
• possible myoclonas/sleep apnea/severe back pain/sweating
• Post Pregnancy Sleep Apnea
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• Connected with sleep apnea?
• I Cured My Obstructive Sleep Apnea in 30 Days With 6 Simple Exercises
• jobby99 OSA
• Tragic ending to a misdiagnosis -sleep apnea, kidney transplant and a mothers heartbr
• Does this sound like apnea??

Related forums and medical stories:

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User Interactive Forums

Read about other experiences, ask a question about Sleep apnea, or answer someone else's question, on our message boards:

• I can not get a diagnosis. Please help.
• Tell us your medical story.
• Share your misdiagnosis story.
• What is the best treatment for this?
• See all the forums.

Article Excerpts about Sleep apnea

NINDS Sleep Apnea Information Page: NINDS (Excerpt)

Sleep apnea is a common disorder in which breathing stops during sleep for 10 seconds or more, sometimes more than 300 times a night. The hallmark of the disorder is excessive daytime sleepiness and compromised quality of life, including significant social and emotional problems. (Source: excerpt from NINDS Sleep Apnea Information Page: NINDS)

Obesity: NWHIC (Excerpt)

Sleep apnea is a serious condition that can cause a person to stop breathing for short periods during sleep and to snore heavily. Sleep apnea may cause daytime sleepiness and even heart failure. The risk for sleep apnea increases with higher body weights. Weight loss usually improves sleep apnea. (Source: excerpt from Obesity: NWHIC)

Sleep Apnea: NWHIC (Excerpt)

Sleep apnea is a serious, potentially life-threatening condition that is far more common than generally understood. First described in 1965, sleep apnea is a breathing disorder characterized by brief interruptions of breathing during sleep. It owes its name to a Greek word, apnea, meaning"want of breath." (Source: excerpt from Sleep Apnea: NWHIC)

Definitions of Sleep apnea:

Apnea that occurs during sleep - (Source - WordNet 2.1)