INTERACTIVE EFFECTS OF CENTRAL AND OBSTRUCTIVE APNEA

Publisher Summary This chapter explores interactive effects of central and obstructive apnea. Irregularly recurring apneic periods lasting for more than ten seconds appear during sleep in one-third of normal individuals. The apneas are of two types: (1) central and (2) obstructive. Central apnea is characterized by an absence of airflow past the nose and mouth because of a cessation of respiratory efforts. In obstructive apnea, despite persistent respiratory effects, airflow ceases because of total upper airway obstruction. This study presents a mathematical model of the chemical control of breathing, which examines the hypotheses that instability in the negative feedback chemical control system, which regulates breathing, can result in central apnea during sleep. The results suggest that the model reasonably reproduces many of the features of the pattern of breathing seen in patients with recurrent sleep apnea and support the contention that obstructive and central apneas are interrelated and depend on variations in the effect of chemical drive on chest wall and upper airway muscles.