Does sleep apnea and excessive snoring go hand in hand?

Answer 1

There is a general notion that sleep apnoea is a condition which has snoring as its key symptom.This is false as I have seen patients with sleep apnoea who dont snore and the other way round.Sleep apnoea is diagnosed not by detecting a snore but by clinical presentations like increased daytime sleep/drowsiness,headache,inability to concentrate in work(all as a result of disturbed night rest).It is diagnosed by a Sleep study where the individual is attached to a dozen electrodes in different parts of his body(like ECG for heart,EMG for muscle,EOG for eye movements,EEG for brain activity and so on),and his sleep is monitored in a sound proof room.The diagnosis is made after the electrical waves are read.
Snoring is an important part of sleep apnoea but not an invariable one.

Answer 2

THEY MAY OR MAY NOT, HOW BOUT THAT!

SLEEP APNEA " SNORING" TO A PERSON MIGHT SOUND LIKE GASPING OR JERKING IT WOULD BE NOT SMOOTH OR HAVE RYTHMN, IT WOULD BE SPONTANEOUS! TEND TO OCCUR MORE AT RANDOM!

NATURAL NORMAL LOUD OR SOFT SNORING IS REGULAR AND CONSISTENT SMOOTH REGULAR IN NATURE, NO PAUSES NO LONG GAPS BETWEEN BREATHS JUST A REGULAR SMOOTH RUNNING MACHINE!

WHILE IRREGULAR SNORING IS NOT DIAGNOSIS FOR SLEEP APNEA IT SHOULD BE CHECKED AT A SLEEP LAB! AND REVIEWED BY A LICENSED DOCTOR OF MEDICINE SPECIALIZING IN SLEEP DISORDERS!

SLEEP APNEA KEEPS YOU FROM GETTING WHAT IS CALLED REM SLEEP (RAPID EYE MOVEMENT) IT IS THE TIME WHEN YOUR BRAIN UNWINDS AND YOUR BODY GOES ON AUTOMATIC PILOT! WHEN THE AUTO SYSTEM FAILS TO BREATH THEN YOUR BODY AWAKENS YOUR BRAIN JUST ENOUGH FOR YOU TO GASP FOR AIIR!

THIS CAN HAPPEN 20 TO 50 OR MORE TIMES IN A NIGHT!

A CPAP DEVICE FORCES AIR AT LOW PRESSURE TO KEEP AIRWAYS OPEN AND PROVIDE OXYGEN IT TAKES ABOUT 2 WEEKS TO GET USED TO ONE! THEY ARE QUIET AND ARE HARDLY NOTICEABLE!

GO TO A SLEEP LAB FOR EVALUATION!


GOOD LUCK

APS

Answer 3

A person can snore like crazy and not have sleep apnea. I have sleep apnea, and I hardly snore at all. Snoring leads one to believe there is an obstruction of the airways, which, if left untreated may lead to periods of apnea (no breathing).

Answer 4

My goodness, did we ask Kimberly for a dissertation? Sometimes snoring and sleep apnea go hand in hand. In my case they did. Being overweight was also a factor. I had bariactric surgery and dropped my first 65 lbs., and I don't snore anymore. I used to wake myself up snoring, not anymore. Get a sleep study done, that will be your best bet.

Answer 5

You can snore and not have sleep apnea, but you can't have sleep apnea without snoring.

Answer 6

Everyone is right, in their own way -- even if they do cut & paste answers without listing their sources :o)

You can snore and not have sleep apnea, you can snore AND have sleep apnea...

If your snoring is coupled with fatigue, body aches, and daytime drowsiness...then most doctors would suggest a sleep study to rule out apnea...as your snoring would be an indicator. However, like I said before, you can have all of those symptoms, minus snoring, and still have apnea -- obstructive apnea, central apnea, or a combination of the two.

If you're worried about yourself, or a loved one, I suggest telling a doctor...quickly...and asking if a sleep study is indicated, based on your (or your loved one's) symptoms. Insurance will cover the costs...and it's always better to be safe than sorry.

I was recently diagnosed with sleep apnea. I snored, but I didn't sound like a freight train...it just came and went throughout the night. Some nights I didn't even make a peep! But I did have chronic pain, fatigue and daytime sleepiness. I could hardly work and missed a lot of church and other events because I needed to sleep. I was prescribed a CPAP machine and my life is a lot better! And, NO snoring! :o)

I hope you find the answers you're looking for!

Answer 7

its the other way round, yes they do, sleep apnea is a consideration if a person snores and it fatigued, good luck

Answer 8

Yes it does,

Answer 9

they do go hand in hand

Answer 10

What is sleep apnea?

-Repeated pauses in breathing (apneas) lasting at least 10 seconds. In severe cases, hundreds of breathing pauses can occur every night.

-Can result from two possible basic causes:

--repetitive collapse of the throat, which often--but not always--leads to loud or irregular snoring and/or gasping sounds (OBSTRUCTIVE SLEEP APNEA or OSA).

--repetitive failure to initiate efforts to breathe (CENTRAL SLEEP APNEA or CSA).

Central sleep apnea can arise from many causes. It afflicts 50% of patients with heart failure! Also, it is frequently found in victims of atrial fibrillation, brain damage (for example, in stroke patients), dementias such as Alzheimer's disease and in the morbidly obese.

CSA also can develop immediately when patients with obstructive sleep apnea are started on treatment with CPAP or bilevel positive airway pressure ("biPAP"). It is vital to understand that this problem (recently termed "COMPLEX SLEEP APNEA " can occur, since it can render treatment with CPAP or bilevel PAP intolerable--and because there now is an excellent treatment for CSA).

--there is a third type of apnea (MIXED SLEEP APNEAS) which begin as central apneas (from lack of any breathing effort). Then, when breathing efforts begin, the upper airway is sucked shut and the second part of the apnea is the result of upper airway obstruction.


Is regular snoring without pauses in breathing OK?

-Not necessarily. Some patients must struggle so violently to get every breath that the resulting dramatic swings in pressure within their chest can even cause collapse of the left side of their heart!

This condition, called UPPER AIRWAY RESISTANCE SYNDROME (UARS) can cause severe sleepiness. In fact, one study showed that individuals with UARS are as likely to fall asleep at the wheel as are patients with full-blown sleep apnea--to which it may eventually lead.

UARS often afflicts young women and children of normal body build, and it frequently does not involve significant snoring!

Many patients with UARS are misdiagnosed as suffering from narcolepsy or idiopathic hypersomnia, because this subtle but serious breathing disorder is readily missed by conventional sleep center monitoring techniques. Patients with sleepiness seeking assessment should ensure that the sleep center that they select for help is capable of doing the special monitoring needed to detect this readily treated and common disorder.


What else can go wrong with breathing during sleep?

-Some people who are quite overweight, who have lung or heart problems, or who have medical problems that make them breathe too shallowly (SLEEP-RELATED HYPOVENTILATION) may have repeated serious drops in their oxygen levels during sleep--even though they may never actually stop breathing. They simply do not breathe deeply enough to maintain good blood oxygen levels,

-CENTRAL SLEEP APNEA refers to repeated failure to initiate efforts to breathe, as noted above.

-Failure to generate adequate breathing effort--whether due to central sleep apnea or sleep-related hypoventilation--can occur without snoring, breathing pauses or any symptoms...even when severe to the point of causing progressive heart damage from lack of oxygen in the blood.


Wouldn't I know if I stopped breathing in my sleep?

-No Some patients who have over one hundred pauses in breathing per hour never wake up with any symptoms!


What factors increase the risk of having these problems?

-Being overweight. Obesity is a major risk factor--although some thin people have severe sleep apnea.

-Nasal congestion or obstruction, "sinus trouble", or allergies.

-Large tonsils and/or adenoids, having a "crowded throat", large tongue or small jaw.

-Lung disease, atrial fibrillation and heart failure.

-Scoliosis or muscle weakness.

-Sedating medicines and alcohol.

-Hypothyroidism and certain other endocrine (hormonal) disorders.

-Brain disorders that affect the control of breathing.


Is sleep apnea common?

-Yes--extremely common! It has been found in up to one of every ten men over age 40 and has been described as more prevalent in men over age 40 than either diabetes or asthma.

-It also occurs in women and younger age groups.



What symptoms and complications can result?

-Daytime sleepiness, often underestimated or not even recognized by the person with the problem.

-A resulting seven to twelve fold increased risk of frequently devastating motor vehicle crashes.

-Irritability, personality change and memory problems.

-Restless sleep, night sweats, headaches and dry throat on awakening.

-In some but not all people, arousals with choking, chest pain or shortness of breath.

-High blood pressure and abnormal heart rhythms.

-Heart failure, heart attack, accelerated development of coronary disease, strokes, cardiac arrest, sleep-related convulsions and premature death in severe cases.

-Impotence.

-It is crucial to realize that some patients have no symptoms at all, even if they suffer from life-threatening degrees of sleep apnea...and one large recent study suggested that the majority of people with sleep apnea may well be asymptomatic!


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Should sleep-related breathing disorders be considered an urgent medical problem?


-In many cases, yes. Severe sleep apnea can represent an emergent condition warranting rapid diagnosis and treatment: because its potentially devastating and irreversible complications can be prevented.


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What treatments are available for sleep apnea and other sleep-related breathing disorders?

-OBSTRUCTIVE SLEEP APNEA:

--is usually best treated with positive airway pressure (CPAP, bilevel PAP).

--some patients respond to surgeries and oral appliances.

--medications are not an adequate treatment in virtually all cases.

--weight loss is vital in overweight patients to prevent worsening of sleep apnea with age, but it usually does not eliminate the problem to an adequate degree. Also, since it cannot occur overnight, specific and effective treatment is vital to protect the patient during the weight loss process.

--positioning during sleep (for example, measures to prevent sleeping on one's back and elevation of the head of the bed) are usually of only partial benefit...but it is advisable to institute these measures to try to reduce the risk of sudden complications while one is awaiting sleep center assessme

Sleep apnea is a potentially dangerous condition. In the absence of effective treatment, it can kill people. However, it usually kills gradually, a bit at a time: with progressive complications and repeated intensive care unit admissions.

Kimberly, RRT