Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
Hypopnea is overly shallow breathing or an abnormally low respiratory rate. Hypopnea is typically defined by a decreased amount of air movement into the lungs and can cause hypoxemia (low levels of oxygen in the blood.) It commonly is due to partial obstruction of the upper airway, but can also have neurological origins in central sleep apnea.
Hypoventilation is not synonymous with respiratory arrest, in which breathing ceases entirely and death occurs within minutes due to hypoxia and leads rapidly into complete anoxia, although both are medical emergencies. Hypoventilation can be considered a precursor to hypoxia, and its lethality is attributed to hypoxia with carbon dioxide toxicity.
Hypopnea – slow and shallow breathing; Hypoventilation – decreased breathing that causes CO 2 gain; Labored breathing – physical presentation of respiratory distress; Tachypnea – increased breathing rate; Orthopnea – Breathlessness in lying down position relieved by sitting up or standing
Diaphraghmatic activity correspondingly increases during REM sleep. Although paradoxical thoracoabdominal movements are not observed, the thoracic and abdominal displacements are not exactly in phase. This decrease in intercostal muscle activity is primarily responsible for hypoventilation that occurs in patients with borderline pulmonary function.
Hypoxemia is caused by five categories of etiologies: hypoventilation, ventilation/perfusion mismatch, right-to-left shunt, diffusion impairment, and low PO 2. Low PO 2 and hypoventilation are associated with a normal alveolar–arterial gradient (A-a gradient) whereas the other categories are associated with an increased A-a gradient. [11]: 229
Fig. 6: Shallow breathing using rib muscles. Shallow breathing, thoracic breathing, costal breathing or chest breathing [1] is the drawing of minimal breath into the lungs, usually by drawing air into the chest area using the intercostal muscles rather than throughout the lungs via the diaphragm.
The treatment for concentral hypoventilation syndrome involves breathing support during sleep, often through the assistance of a mechanical ventilator. In some cases, this type of breathing support may be necessary during waking hours as well. Often referred to as oxygen therapy, it can use a CPAP machine as well.
The conditions of hypoxia and hypercapnia, whether caused by apnea or not, trigger additional effects on the body.The immediate effects of central sleep apnea on the body depend on how long the failure to breathe endures, how short is the interval between failures to breathe, and the presence or absence of independent conditions whose effects amplify those of an apneic episode.