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. 2010 Sep 28:2:233-55.
doi: 10.2147/NSS.S6844. Print 2010.

Obstructive sleep apnea syndrome: natural history, diagnosis, and emerging treatment options

Tarek Gharibeh  1 , Reena Mehra
Affiliations

Obstructive sleep apnea syndrome: natural history, diagnosis, and emerging treatment options

Tarek Gharibeh et al. Nat Sci Sleep. .

Abstract

Sleep apnea is an entity characterized by repetitive upper airway obstruction resulting in nocturnal hypoxia and sleep fragmentation. It is estimated that 2%-4% of the middle-aged population has sleep apnea with a predilection in men relative to women. Risk factors of sleep apnea include obesity, gender, age, menopause, familial factors, craniofacial abnormalities, and alcohol. Sleep apnea has been increasingly recognized as a major health burden associated with hypertension and increased risk of cardiovascular disease and death. Increased airway collapsibility and derangement in ventilatory control responses are the major pathological features of this disorder. Polysomnography (PSG) is the gold-standard method for diagnosis of sleep apnea and assessment of sleep apnea severity; however, portable sleep monitoring has a diagnostic role in the setting of high pretest probability sleep apnea in the absence of significant comorbidity. Positive pressure therapy is the mainstay therapy of sleep apnea. Other treatment modalities, such as upper airway surgery or oral appliances, may be used for the treatment of sleep apnea in select cases. In this review, we focus on describing the sleep apnea definition, risk factor profile, underlying pathophysiologic mechanisms, associated adverse consequences, diagnostic modalities, and treatment strategies.

Keywords: cardiovascular disease; obstructive sleep apnea; positive airway pressure.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Schematic representation of different risk factors and proposed mechanisms by which they result in obstructive sleep apnea.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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