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Definition
By Mayo Clinic staffCentral sleep apnea is a disorder in which your breathing repeatedly stops and starts during sleep. Central sleep apnea occurs because your brain doesn't send proper signals to the muscles that control your breathing — unlike obstructive sleep apnea, in which you can't breathe normally because of upper airway obstruction. Central sleep apnea is less common, accounting for fewer than 5 percent of sleep apnea cases.
Central sleep apnea may occur as a result of other conditions, such as heart failure and stroke. Sleeping at a high altitude also may cause central sleep apnea.
Treatments for central sleep apnea may involve addressing predisposing conditions, using a device to assist breathing or using supplemental oxygen.
- Badr MS. Central sleep apnea syndrome: Risk factors, clinical presentation, and diagnosis. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index/html. Accessed April 11, 2011.
- NINDS sleep apnea information page. National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke. http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/sleep_apnea/sleep_apnea.htm. Accessed April 10, 2011.
- Javaheri S. Central sleep apnea. Clinics in Chest Medicine. 2010;31:235.
- Ropper AH, et al. Sleep and its abnormalities. In: Ropper AH, et al. Adams & Victor's Principles of Neurology. 9th ed. New York, N.Y.: The McGraw-Hill Companies; 2009. http://www.accessmedicine.com/resourceTOC.aspx?resourceID=54. Accessed April 8, 2011.
- Malhotra A. What is central sleep apnea? Respiratory Care. 2010;55:1168.
- Badr MS. Central sleep apnea syndrome: Pathogenesis. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index/html. Accessed April 11, 2011.
- Budhiraja R. Sleep-disordered breathing and cardiovascular disorders. Respiratory Care. 2010;55:1322.
- Collop N. Portable monitoring in obstructive sleep apnea in adults. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index/html. Accessed April 11, 2011.
- Millman RP. Polysomnography in obstructive sleep apnea in adults. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index/html. Accessed April 11, 2011.
- Your guide to healthy sleep. National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute. http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/public/sleep/healthy_sleep.pdf. Accessed April 9, 2011.
- Central sleep apnea. The Merck Manuals: The Merck Manual for Healthcare Professionals. http://www.merckmanuals.com/professional/print/sec05/ch061/ch061d.html. Accessed April 12, 2011.
- Badr MS. Central sleep apnea: Treatment. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index/html. Accessed April 11, 2011.
- Hastings PC, et al. Adaptive servo-ventilation in heart failure patients with sleep apnea: A real world study. International Journal of Cardiology. 2010;139:17.
- Randerath WJ, et al. Combined adaptive servo-ventilation and automatic positive airway pressure (anticyclic modulated ventilation) in co-existing obstructive and central sleep apnea syndrome and periodic breathing. Sleep Medicine. 2009;10:898.
- Ono H, et al. Sleep apnea syndrome: Central sleep apnea and pulmonary hypertension worsened during treatment with auto-CPAP, but improved by adaptive servo-ventilation. Internal Medicine. 2010;49:415.
- Olson EJ (expert opinion). Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn. April 15, 2011.
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