NR 283 Week 6 Assignment; RUA; Pathophysiological Processes; Sleep Apnea

RUA: Sleep Apnea Student Name Chamberlain University NR 283: Pathophysiology Professor Brox June 13th, 2021 RUA: Sleep Apnea Introduction Snoring, it is loud, disturbs sleep, and is constantly a nuisance for anyone sleeping next to that person. Abruptly, the snoring finally stops, you are relieved that you can get some peace and quiet, but the snoring will almost always start back up again. The snoring will continue through the night, coming and going. The person that has stopped snoring abruptly, is not stopping their snoring, they are not breathing, and are completely unaware that this has happened; they are experiencing sleep apnea. Sleep apnea (SA), “is the most common sleep disordered breathing condition, and is characterized by periodic pauses in breathing during sleep (Jaffe and Schub, 2018)”. There are three different types of sleep apnea; the first being obstructive sleep apnea, which “affects 2%-4% of women and 4%-9% of men and is 2-3 times more common in older adults than in individuals 30-64 years of age (Jaffe and Schub, 2018)”. The second type is called central sleep apnea, which “affects <1% of the general population and <10% of patients presenting for polysomnography but is more common in patients with heart failure (25%-40%) and stroke (10%) (Jaffe and Schub, 2018)”. The final type is called mixed sleep apnea, which “occurs in 4%-19% of individuals with clinical and polysomnographic features of obstructive sleep apnea (Jaffe and Schub, 2018)”. Etiology and Risk Factors Sleep apnea is “more common in men and adults over the age of 40 (Scholten, 2020)”. Men are more often affected than women, and the incidence increases with age and obesity (body mass index [BMI] >30). Current estimates suggest that 3% to 5% of the adult population is affected (Hubert and VanMeter, 2017)”. Risk factors for sleep apnea include “being obese, medical conditions such as heart and blood vessel problems, problems with the kidneys or lungs, endocrine problems, such as diabetes and hypothyroidism, having a large neck, family history of apnea, using certain medications for pain or sleep, having problems with the nose or throat such as nasal polyps or very large tonsils, smoking, and alcohol usage (Scholten, 2020)”. Pathophysiological Processes Sleep apnea that occurs within “adults can be defined as a pause in breathing of at least 10 seconds. Sleep apnea can cause hypoxia and hypercapnia (Jaffe and Schub, 2018)”. Sleep apnea has three different types. Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) “is the most common type and is caused by partial or complete collapse of the pharyngeal airway. OSA is characterized by episodes of apnea or hypopnea that cause a recurrent pattern of sleep interruption followed by restored breathing (Jaffe and Schub, 2018)”. Central sleep apnea (CSA), which is “the least common type. CSA is a central nervous system (CNS) disorder in which the brainstem fails to signal respiratory muscles to facilitate inhalation, causing the individual to miss one or more cycles of normal breathing. CSA can be the result of a stroke, brain infect