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Posted by Greg Harper on March 05, 1998 at 20:08:27:In Reply to: newly diagnosed - central sleep apnea posted by mary beth on March 04, 1998 at 13:12:34:
Mary Beth:
Six episodes of central sleep apnea (CSA), while confusing, may not be too much to worry about. It depends on the duration of the episode and the effect that it has on your body's oxygen level. If they were of short duration (10 seconds or less) chances are good that they are not harmful. Even if you were having 6 episodes per hour, you would still be in the normal range.
CSA occurs in response to your body's carbon dioxide (CO2) in the blood stream. CO2 is a normal by-product of cell metabolism, so it's constantly in your bloodstream. If there is too much CO2, the respiratory control center in your brainstem will tell respiratory muscles to work harder and faster to get rid of it through the exhalation process. If there is not enough CO2, your brain will tell your respiratory muscles to take it easy so that the CO2 level can build up again in your bloodstream. The respiratory control center in your brain is VERY sensitive.
How sensitive is it...
It is so sensitive that if you unconsciously take a deep sigh breath, like we all normally do on an average of 10-20 times per hour, extra CO2 will be exhaled and there will be a compensatory pause in your breathing...a central apnea. A compensatory sigh apnea can last 5 to 15 seconds. Depending on who does the scoring of your sleep study, these normal sigh apneas can be grouped in with pathological apneas. It can give the impression that CSA has been created where there was none before.
So why do we sigh...
I'm glad you asked. You can consider the lungs as spongy tissue with millions of little air sacs called alveoli. The alveloi are where gas exchange takes place in the lungs. They are microscopically small and collapse easily if your body does not take steps to keep them inflated. It does this by sighing periodically to stretch the alveloi to keep them open. If this does not happen, a lung disease called atelectasis occurs.
I bet your glad that I answered all these questions that you didn't ask. I got carried away.
Anyway, odds are that there is nothing to be overly concerned about. If you find that you are still having problems with sleep and daytime alertness contact your physician. It's the only good way to tell if you are being treated successfully.
Good luck!
Sincerely,
Greg Harper, RRT, RCP
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