OBSTRUCTIVE SLEEP APNOEA FACT SHEET

• Obstructive Sleep Apnoea is a common sleep disorder characterized by brief interruptions of breathing
  during sleep.
• "Apnoea" is a Greek word meaning "without breath." An apnoea is clinically defined as a cessation of breath that lasts at least ten seconds.
• "Hypopnea" also comes from Greek: "hypo" meaning "beneath" or "less than normal" and "pnea" meaning "breath." A hypopnea is not a complete cessation of breath but can be defined as a perceptible reduction in airflow that leads to sleep fragmentation or to a decrease in the oxygen level in the bloodstream.
• The apnoea-hypopnea index (AHI) or respiratory disturbance index (RDI) refers to the total number of apnoeas and hypopneas divided by the total sleep study in a patient’s sleep study. The AHI gives one measure of the severity of the sleep apnoea.
• Typically the soft tissue in the rear of the throat collapses and closes the airway, forcing sufferers to stop breathing repeatedly during sleep, sometimes hundreds of times a night. 
• Although the typical Obstructive Sleep Apnoea patent is overweight, male, and over the age of forty, sleep apnoea affects both males and females of all ages and those of ideal weight.
• The most common symptoms of Obstructive Sleep Apnoea are loud snoring and excessive sleepiness (i.e., falling asleep easily and sometimes often inappropriately).
• Untreated Obstructive Sleep Apnoea can be life threatening; consequences may include high blood pressure and other cardiovascular complications.