Hello and welcome to the zero to finals podcast.

My name is Tom and in this episode I'm going to be talking to you about obstructive sleep apnea.

If you want to follow along with written notes on this topic,

you can follow along at zero definals.com slash sleep apnea

or in the respiratory section of the zero-definals medicine book.

Let's get straight into it.

Obstructive sleep apnea is caused by collapse of the pharyngeal airway during sleep,

and it's characterized by apneic episodes during sleep where the person will stop breathing periodically for up to a few minutes.

And this is usually reported by the partner as the patient is unaware of these episodes.

There's a few risk factors for developing obstructive sleep apnea.

These are being middle aged, male, obese, drinking excessive alcohol and smoking.

So if you see a combination of these features in your exams, think about obstructive sleep apnea.

How do patients present?

Well, often the apneaic episodes during sleep are reported by their partner.

They might come in complaining of snoring.

Patients often have a morning headache and they wake up feeling unrefresh from sleep.

Then a key feature is daytime sleepiness and concentration problems.

And when we check the patient during their sleep,

they have reduced oxygen saturations throughout the night.

Severe cases can cause hypertension, heart failure,

and can increase the risk of having myocard lymphaction or stroke.

Here's a quick tom tip for you.

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