Hypopnea

Hypopnea is a type of sleep apnea characterized by reduced breathing ability, though not as severe as sleep apnea. In patients with sleep apnea, the amount of breath coming into their lungs is reduced to just 25 percent or lower. Those suffering from hypopnea will see a reduction between 30 percent and 65 percent. During sleep, normal breath airflow ranges from 70 percent to 100 percent of the breath you take in.

Reduced airflow can be caused by weight gain.

Sleep apnea in any form can disrupt sleep and leave an individual with an increased risk of illness. Hypopnea, like other forms of sleep apnea, is associated with a decrease in the oxygen saturation of the blood to 4 percent or lower during sleep. Without the proper amount of oxygen in the blood, the body's organs do not get enough oxygen to function properly.

Hypopnea is unlike sleep apnea in that more air does make it through the airway. Therefore, the reduction in oxygen is far less. There are many complications brought on just by this reduction of airflow:

• Disruptive sleep patterns
• Inability to concentrate
• Poor memory
• Headaches, especially during morning hours
• Fatigue
• Lethargy
• Irritability
• Depression
• Drop in energy levels

The most common symptom of the condition is just being tired all the time, even if you feel like you got many hours of sleep. In addition, most individuals will have an intense, heavy snore. Loud snorts or choking sounds may happen. A short period of no breathing is common, too. This happens several times per hour and each episode of no breathing can last up to 20 seconds or longer.

When you suffer from this sleep disorder, your body does not get enough oxygen while sleeping. The brain recognizes this and in an effort to improve the situation, the brain jolts the body awake just slightly. It is just enough movement to get the airway back open so you are getting a better flow of oxygen. The problem here is that this happens several times per night. The brain never goes through the sleep cycles it needs and you remain tired, constantly.

There are several possible causes. It can be attributed to central sleep apnea, which is the inability to maintain a quality breathing pattern. Another form is obstructive hypopnea. Here, there is a larger amount of tissue in the air passageway than normal, which leads to the passage closing up when you lie down.

In all forms of this sleep disorder, the airway does not close fully, but the partial closing still limits the amount of oxygen let in. This leads to complications throughout the body, since organs do not get enough oxygen.

To know what type of sleep apnea you have, doctors will conduct a sleep study. This overnight visit will calculate the hypopnea index, or HI. To get the HI, the number of occurrences of while sleeping, and then divides by the number of hours slept.

The treatment is dependent on the type it is. Most commonly, reducing weight can help to improve sleep apnea symptoms, especially in individuals who have a large amount of tissue around the neck region. Some surgeries are available to remove excess tissue at the back of the throat triggering the episodes.

Treatment may also include the use of a Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP) device. This device will keep a continuous flow of air coming into the air passageway to keep it open. It fits snuggly over the nose and/or mouth. The pressure in these devices is adjusted so that the tissues surrounding the air passageway is kept pushed open, but not so much that it keeps you from breathing regularly. For many patients, the first use of a CPAP mask or device can be uncomfortable; the quality of sleep obtained is excellent.

Unsure if you have hypopnea? Those who have loud snoring at night, often with breath periods of no sound could be suffering from this sleep disorder. Sleep disorders can cause many problems for individuals, including the inability to function properly during the day. Those who do have symptoms of hypopnea should speak with their family doctor as soon as possible.

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