Obstructive Sleep Apnea Syndrome. Clinical Manifestations.
Obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS) is a condition characterized by frequent pauses in breathing during sleep, usually accompanied by loud snoring. These pauses cut off the body’s oxygen supply for several seconds. As a result, the brain awakens and resumes breathing. This can happen hundreds of times throughout the night, resulting in shallow and unsteady sleep.
Clinical manifestations of OSA
More than 60% of patients with sleep apnea syndrome experience the following symptoms:
Loud snoring
- Pauses in breathing
- during sleep
- Restless, unrefreshing sleep
- Excessive daytime sleepiness
- Frequent urination at night
- Irritability, memory loss
Some patients, with more severe forms of the disease, experience the following symptoms:
- Night attacks of suffocation
- Night sweats
- Morning headaches
- High blood pressure
- Decreased potency
What are the main risk factors?
Patients with comorbidities are at higher risk of developing OSA. Therefore, a diagnostic sleep study—polysomnography—is necessary in the presence of:
- Obesity (BMI >30)
- Heart failure
- Respiratory failure
- Metabolic syndrome
- Refractory hypertension (not controlled with a three-component treatment regimen)
- Coronary heart disease (class II-IV), atrial fibrillation, nocturnal arrhythmias, myocardial infarction, or a history of coronary heart disease surgery
- History of acute cerebrovascular accident (stroke).
