Warning signs of sleep apnea include a pattern of snoring interrupted by pauses and gasps as the person stops, then restarts, to breathe. The length of apnea ranges from a few seconds to more than a minute, and happens repeatedly, sometimes hundreds of times, throughout the night. This pattern interrupts the person's sleep cycle so they do not feel rested in the morning. Another, less common type of sleep apnea is known as central sleep apnea. This occurs when the brain does not send the proper signal to the chest muscles to breathe, and may occur in patients with heart or neurological disorders.
Sleep apnea has no cure but can be effectively treated by using special air-flow machines.
The system works by continuously applying pressurized air usually through the patient's nasal passage to keep it open. This machine blows bilevel pressurized air into the patient's airway to keep it open. During inspiration, high-level pressure is blown into the airway to keep it open. During expiration the pressure drops to a lower level to allow the patient to exhale easily but at the same time keeping the airway open. The BiPAP system includes a machine to pump the air through tubing and a mask that covers the nose.