OSA and CSA

[zeeser]

How are OBSTRUCTIVE SLEEP APNEA and CENTRAL SLEEP APNEA related? Thanks, Tom

[SarcasticDave94]

Short N Quick answer: both OSA and CSA are forms of apnea, which means you are not breathing for the requisite 10 seconds or longer.

OSA: Obstructive means you are dealing with a physical blockage that you cannot breathe past, almost always it's the throat collapsing on itself.

CSA: Central (not to be confused with the designation of CA which can be clear airway) means you are dealing with the mental process of breathing being disrupted, mostly due to a form of imbalance between oxygen and carbon dioxide that confuses the brain to think you're not ready for a breath yet.

[zeeser]

Lucky me I've got both! Thanks for you reply, Tom

[JesseLee]

Tom,

There are many people who suffer from both. ScarcasticDave, for example, uses a machine that addresses both forms of apnea. On this forum, it is not at all uncommon for folks to have OSA and CSA with both types occuring nightly. The questions I have for you are; is this a new diagnosis, and are you treated/pursuing treatment?

If you'll post some charts, help through advice is obtained here

[jerrydaw]

In my first sleep test, i had an AHI of 58.  They were almost evenly divided between OSA and CSA.  It took the ASV machine, using the Auto setting to treat both.  This is not uncommon.  Now my average is about 1.9 AHI.

[jerry1967]

Short N Quick answer: both OSA and CSA are forms of apnea, which means you are not breathing for the requisite 10 seconds or longer.

OSA: Obstructive means you are dealing with a physical blockage that you cannot breathe past, almost always it's the throat collapsing on itself.

CSA: Central (not to be confused with the designation of CA which can be clear airway) means you are dealing with the mental process of breathing being disrupted, mostly due to a form of imbalance between oxygen and carbon dioxide that confuses the brain to think you're not ready for a breath yet.

I thought CA was a Central just another way to say it? Does sleepyhead distinguish between a central and CA?

[JesseLee]

Short N Quick answer: both OSA and CSA are forms of apnea, which means you are not breathing for the requisite 10 seconds or longer.

OSA: Obstructive means you are dealing with a physical blockage that you cannot breathe past, almost always it's the throat collapsing on itself.

CSA: Central (not to be confused with the designation of CA which can be clear airway) means you are dealing with the mental process of breathing being disrupted, mostly due to a form of imbalance between oxygen and carbon dioxide that confuses the brain to think you're not ready for a breath yet.

I thought CA was a Central just another way to say it? Does sleepyhead distinguish between a central and CA?

CA has been used interchangeably to refer to central apnea and clear airway. I think the machines are good at detecting obstructive apneas and when there is no obstructive apnea detected and there is no flow, the machine will mark a clear airway which can be interpreted as central apnea. The airway is open but there is no breathing, central apnea.

[SarcasticDave94]

Correct. I guess I should have had my post without the phrase in parenthesis. I wasn't trying to confuse the issue. I suppose with the capabilities our machines have, clear airway is, as far as I've learned, labeled as such because it's definitely not obstructive, hence clear or open. Our machines try to test for clear or obstructive via pulses to gauge response then labels accordingly, and hopefully accurately.

[mesenteria]

Is it not correct to understand that "CA" means "Clear Airway" when it is a rendering given via a ResMed machine...only?  And would it not be correct to assume that some, many, most CA's are 'central sleep apneas' sort of by default?  They don't meter out as obstructive, so they are not assigned the designation "OSA" in at least the ResMed machines.  If the person experiences no flow limitation, and there's no drawing of breath...the person just seems to 'stop'...then, after 10 seconds the machine assigns the event the designation of 'CA', or "ain't nuthin' happenin'.'  

I only ask this because of my very limited experience and knowledge.  For example, I have never used, nor seen the data set, from another manufacturer's rendering and alogorithms except in SleepyHead...I guess.  Do they all render a 'CA', and does the industry count such events necessarily as a "central?"

[OpalRose]

I think for the most part, the machines are accurate.  If you open up the wave form, you can see an Obstructive shows an attempt to breathe, but a Clear Airway is usually a flat line.

Occasionally, I will see a flag marked as CA, but the wave form looks the same as one marked as Obstructive.