Mixed sleep apnea

Mixed sleep apnea, as the name suggests, is the combination of central apnea syndrome and obstructive apnea syndrome. Most people with sleep apnea probably have some form of mixed sleep apnea. Both central apnea and obstructive apnea share some things in common. Some abnormality in the breathing reflex in the brain usually accompanies the development of both central sleep apnea and obstructive sleep apnea syndrome.

Mixed sleep apnea treatment

The obstructive apnea component of mixed sleep apnea is usually treated first. Once breathing obstruction is treated, the central sleep apnea will often disappear. If the central sleep apnea does not disappear, it usually lessens in effect and does not require further treatment after all.

Sometimes obstructive sleep apnea leads to central sleep apnea

It is possible that obstructive sleep apnea can lead to central sleep apnea syndrome. As the person with obstructive sleep apnea struggles to breathe, he or she takes in more oxygen than normal, thus lowering the level of carbon dioxide in his blood. This low level of carbon dioxide is enough to trigger central sleep apnea syndrome. With the presence of central sleep apnea in a person with obstructive sleep apnea, the mixed sleep apnea case is created.