Sleep Apnea Central

Central sleep apnea (CSA) or central sleep apnea syndrome (CSAS) is a sleep-related disorder in which the effort to breathe is diminished or absent, typically for 10 to 30 seconds either intermittently or in cycles, and is usually associated with a reduction in blood oxygen saturation.

Symptoms The most common symptom of central sleep apnea is short periods during sleep when breathing stops. Some people exhibit very shallow breathing instead of actually stopping breathing. You may wake up feeling short of breath.

Treatment Several different treatments aimed at central sleep apnea include positive airway pressure, adaptive servo ventilation (ASV), oxygen, added dead space, carbon dioxide inhalation, and overdrive atrial pacing. Continuous positive airway pressure CPAP improves cardiac function in patients with congestive heart failure and CSB-CSA.Bilevel positive airway pressure Bilevel positive airway pressure (BIPAP) is effective for treating patients with hypercapnic central sleep apnea (associated with hypoventilation).
 Statistics Canada as part of the Canadian Community Health Survey, interviewed a nationally representative sample of 9,523 Canadians ages 12 years and older. This fact sheet focuses on sleep apnea in adults ages 18 years and older; and, the number of adult survey respondents (n=8647) was weighted to ensure that estimates would be representative of the adult Canadian population.