Overview
What is Obstructive Sleep Apnea?

Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA) is a major health problem that affects millions of people worldwide. Approximately 17 million people have OSA in the United States and as many as 20 million people in Europe. Many patients who have sleep apnea have not yet been diagnosed by their physician.

OSA is a condition characterized by frequent obstruction of an individual's airway during sleep. Some of the symptoms include:

  • Excessive daytime sleepiness
  • Loud snoring
  • Gasping for air during sleep
  • Falling asleep while driving
  • Falling asleep during the day
  • Morning headaches
  • Loss of energy
  • Trouble concentrating
  • Irritability
With OSA, blood oxygen levels become low during sleep. OSA has been associated with such complications as hypertension, coronary artery disease, heart attacks and stroke. OSA sufferers are four times more likely to have a stroke and three times more likely to have heart disease.1 About one half of patients who have hypertension have obstructive sleep apnea, and about one half of patients who have obstructive sleep apnea have hypertension.2

The most notable effect of OSA is excessive sleepiness during the day. In 2004, US researchers reported that 1,400 traffic fatalities each year is due to drivers suffering from sleep apnea.3

1National Sleep Foundation
2Silverberg, D et al. Treating Obstructive Sleep Apnea Improves Essential Hypertension and Quality of Life. American Family Physician 2002;65:229-36
3ABC News, 10 May 2004