Definition of sleep apnea
: apnea that recurs during sleep and is caused especially by obstruction of the airway or a disturbance in the brain's respiratory center
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Recent Examples of sleep apnea from the Web
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After a sleep study, Travis was diagnosed with sleep apnea.
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Constipation and sleep apnea should be treated by your child’s pediatrician or another specialist.
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Intense snoring correlates with the serious medical condition of obstructive sleep apnea, plaguing one in 15 adults in the U.S. To an engineer, the flutter phenomenon is known as a self-excitation.
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In patients who suffer from obstructive sleep apnea, throat muscles inadvertently relax during sleep, blocking the airway.
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Doug’s risk factors for a heart attack included being overweight, having sleep apnea, and living with untreated high blood pressure.
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Add a smartphone’s microphone to listen for snoring, and EverSleep can spot signs of sleep apnea, which is associated with agitation, gasping, and low blood oxygen.
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The cases include an Ohio woman with out-of-control blood pressure, a 49-year-old West Virginia man awaiting a heart transplant and several children with sleep apnea.
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Joint or back pain, sleep apnea, depression, anxiety, medication reactions, and even diseases like cancer can cause chronic insomnia.
These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'sleep apnea.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
First Known Use of sleep apnea
1975
Medical Dictionary
sleep apnea
medical Definition of sleep apnea
: brief periods of recurrent cessation of breathing during sleep that is caused especially by obstruction of the airway or a disturbance in the brain's respiratory center and is associated especially with excessive daytime sleepiness
Learn More about sleep apnea
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Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about sleep apnea
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