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Central sleep apnea

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• Symptoms
• Treatment

Definition:

Central sleep apnea is when you stop breathing during sleep. It is caused by problems with how the brain controls breathing.

This is not the more common obstructive sleep apnea , which is caused by obesity or other problems and involves loud snoring.

Alternative Names:

Sleep apnea - central

Causes, incidence, and risk factors:

Central sleep apnea usually occurs in people who are seriously ill. For example, it can occur in people with a variety of severe and life-threatening lower brain stem lesions. The brainstem controls breathing. As a result, any disease or injury affecting this area may result in problems with normal breathing during sleep or when awake.

Conditions that can cause central sleep apnea include:

• Bulbar poliomyelitis
• Encephalitis affecting the brainstem
• Neurodegenerative illnesses
• Stroke affecting the brainstem

Other causes include complications of cervical spine surgery , secondary radiation in the region of the cervical spine, severe arthritis and degenerative changes in the cervical spine or the base of the skull, or primary hypoventilation syndrome.

There is a form of central sleep apnea that commonly occurs in people with congestive heart failure. Finally, idiopathic central sleep apnea is when the apnea is not associated with another disease.

• Review Date: 11/13/2006
• Reviewed By: David A. Kaufman, M.D., Assistant Professor, Division of Pulmonary, Critical Care & Sleep Medicine, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York, NY. Review provided by VeriMed Healthcare Network.

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