Sleep Apnoea

Dr Koefman specialises in Sleep Apnoea, and is now holding clinics.
Obstructive Sleep Apnoea is a serious, potentially life-threatening condition that is far more common that is generally understood. Obstructive Sleep Apnoea is a breathing disorder characterised by brief interruptions of breathing during sleep. It owes its name to a Greek word, apnoea, meaning 'œwithout breath'.

The effects of OSA is that a person can stop breathing for periods when asleep. Theses interruptions (apnoeas), which last for 10 seconds or more, occur when the airway narrows so much that it closes. This stops breathing, and the brain reacts by briefly waking the subject, causing the airways to re-open and breathing to restart. The individual is usually unaware of this awakening and this process can be repeated up to several hundred times during the night.

Proper restful sleep becomes impossible, resulting in sleepiness and impairment of daytime function. Early recognition and treatment of OSA is important. The excessive sleepiness associated with OSA impairs quality of life and places people at increased risk of road traffic and other accidents. It may also be associated with irregular heartbeat, high blood pressure, heart attack and stroke.

• 'Apnoea' is a Greek word meaning '€œwithout breath'. An apnoea is clinically defined as a cessation of breath that lasts at least 10 seconds.
  
• 'œHypopnoea' also comes from the Greek: 'œhypo' meaning 'beneath' or 'less than normal' and 'œpnoea' meaning 'breath'. A hypopnoea is not a complete cessation of breath but can be defined as a perceptible reduction in airflow that leads to sleep fragmentation or to a decrease in the oxygen level in the bloodstream.
  
• The apnoea-hypopnoea index (AHI) or respiratory disturbance index (RDI) refers to the total number of apnoeas and hypopnoeas divided by the total sleep study in a patient's sleep study. The AHI gives ones measurement of the severity of sleep apnoea.
  
• Typically the soft tissue in the rear if the throat collapses and closes the airway, forcing sufferers to stop breathing repeatedly during sleep, sometimes hundreds of times a night.
  
• Although the typical Obstructive Sleep Apnoea patient is overweight, male and over the age of forty, sleep apnoea affects both males and females of all ages and those of idea weight.

The most common symptoms of Obstructive Sleep Apnoea are loud snoring and excessive sleepiness (i.e., falling asleep easily and sometimes often inappropriately). The Epworth sleep score is a useful way of determining whether you have sleep apnoea or not. Following this an overnight sleep study may be done which measures the number of times you stop breathing and for how long, your pulse rate, the oxygen saturation rate, body position and loudness of snoring.

Download the Epworth Sleep Scale and return to the Surgery.

For more information please visit the websites below:

External Websites:

British Snoring & Sleep Apnoea Association

Video's from the NHS

An expert explains the difference between snoring and sleep apnoea, and people talk about the methods they've used to get a good night's sleep.