Obstructive Sleep Apnoea (OSA)
(28/10/09)
What is obstructive sleep apnoea?
Normally when we are asleep, the muscles in our body relax but our airway passage stays open, allowing us to breathe normally. However, for some people, the airway passage doesn't stay open - often because there is pressure from fat around the neck - which stops breathing (apnoea) or, if breathing is only partly blocked, the airflow is reduced (hypopnoea). This is what doctors call obstructive sleep apnoea. Often, this interruption of a person's breathing will cause them to wake up repeatedly through the night, gasping for air. The most common sign of obstructive sleep apnoea or hypopnoea is loud, irregular snoring - the sound made as air passes through the narrowed throat and windpipe (the airway) - and long pauses when the person doesn't seem to be breathing at all.
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If a person suffers from problems – such as excessive sleepiness, poor concentration and mood changes – as a result of their sleep being disturbed by obstructive sleep apnoea or hypopnoea, then this is called Obstructive Sleep Apnoea-Hypopnoea Syndrome (OSAHS).
OSAHS is very common indeed; although it occurs more frequently in middle-aged men, it can occur in all ages, including children, and in both sexes.
Dr. Bruno Baconnet
Senior Director
Medical Affairs
Cephalon Europe