Hypopnea episodes often occur along with sleep apnea events that cause the body to stop breathing completely for a few seconds until the brain tells it to wake up. A patient may endure a recurring cycle of hypopnea episodes followed by apnea events throughout the night.
Like sleep apnea , hypopnea may be categorized as obstructive, central or mixed obstructive-central. After we fall asleep, our brain and body fully relax. In cases of obstructive hypopnea, the relaxed muscles and tissues in the throat become slack and droopy, partially blocking the airway.
The brain tells the body to continue the effort to breathe, however, the obstructed airway restricts proper air flow. Not all people that snore have hypopnea, however; learn more about snoring. Central hypopnea episodes are the result of a mechanical lack of effort to breathe vs.
For central apnea patients, the brain does not send the body regular instructions to perform the action of breathing. In contrast to obstructive hypopnea, snoring is not a symptom of central hypopnea.
Central hypopnea may be linked to brain illness or injury, or medication use. Mixed hypopnea is used to describe combined obstructive and central hypopnea.
