Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is the most common form of sleep-disordered breathing (SDB), affecting more than three in ten men and nearly one in five women.1 Patients who suffer from OSA often experience partial or full upper airway collapse during sleep.
Central sleep apnea (CSA) is less common than OSA.2 Unlike OSA patients who have partially or fully blocked upper airways that restrict breathing, patients with CSA have a central nervous system disorder. This means either the breathing centre in the brain fails to trigger breathing, or the signal to inhale is not transmitted properly to the rest of the patient’s body.
Mixed sleep apnea is a combination of obstructive sleep apnea and central sleep apnea. Mixed sleep apnea is more common than CSA but less prevalent than OSA.3
Snoring can have a disruptive effect on your patients’ lives. They’re often not the first to realise they have a problem: rather, it’s their bed partner who comments.
The first sign of a sleep disorder is snoring, even though many patients won’t identify that as a sign of something more serious. There are other common symptoms too.
ResMed gives you the tools to screen your patients for sleep-disordered breathing, request a sleep study, and get them diagnosed.
