Mayo Clinic Health Manager

Get free personalized health guidance for you and your family.

Get Started

Free

E-Newsletter

Subscribe to receive the latest updates on health topics. About our newsletters

  • Housecall
  • Alzheimer's caregiving
  • Living with cancer

Treatments and drugs

By Mayo Clinic staff

CLICK TO ENLARGE

Illustration showing continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) Continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP)

Treatments for central sleep apnea may include:

  • Treatment for associated medical problems. Possible causes of central sleep apnea include other disorders, and treating those conditions may help your sleep apnea. For example, appropriate therapy for heart failure may eliminate central sleep apnea.
  • Reduction of opioid medications. If opioid medications are causing your sleep apnea, your doctor may gradually reduce your dose of those medications.
  • Supplemental oxygen. Using supplemental oxygen while you sleep may help if you have central sleep apnea. Various forms of oxygen are available as well as different devices to deliver oxygen to your lungs. This treatment generally isn't recommended for those with heart failure.
  • Medications. Certain medications have been used to stimulate breathing in people with central sleep apnea. For example, some doctors prescribe acetazolamide to prevent central sleep apnea in high altitude.
  • Continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP). This method, also used to treat obstructive sleep apnea, involves wearing a mask over your nose while you sleep. The mask is attached to a small pump that supplies pressurized air which holds open your upper airway. CPAP may prevent the airway closure that can trigger central sleep apnea. As with obstructive sleep apnea, it's important that you use the device only as directed. If your mask is uncomfortable or the pressure feels too strong, talk with your doctor so that adjustments can be made.
  • Bilevel positive airway pressure (bilevel PAP). Unlike CPAP, which supplies steady, constant pressure to your upper airway as you breathe in and out, bilevel PAP builds to a higher pressure when you inhale and decreases to a lower pressure when you exhale. The goal of this treatment is to boost the weak breathing pattern of central sleep apnea. Some bilevel PAP devices can be set to automatically deliver a breath if the device detects you haven't taken a breath after a certain number of seconds.
  • Adaptive servo-ventilation (ASV). This newer airflow device is designed to treat central sleep apnea and complex sleep apnea. The device monitors your normal breathing pattern and stores the information in a built-in computer. After you fall asleep, the machine uses pressure to regulate your breathing pattern and prevent pauses in your breathing.
Tests and diagnosis
References
  1. Badr MS. Central sleep apnea syndrome: Risk factors, clinical presentation, and diagnosis. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed April 17, 2009.
  2. Douglas NJ. Sleep apnea. In: Fauci AS, et al. Harrison's Principles of Internal Medicine. 17th ed. New York, N.Y.: McGraw-Hill Medical; 2008. http://www.accessmedicine.com/content.aspx?aID=2869549. Accessed April 17, 2009.
  3. Central sleep apnea. The Merck Manuals: The Merck Manual for Healthcare Professionals. http://www.merck.com/mmpe/print/sec05/ch061/ch061d.html. Accessed April 17, 2009.
  4. Eckert, DJ. Central sleep apnea: Pathophysiology and treatment. Chest. 2007;131:595.
  5. Ropper AH, et al. Sleep and its abnormalities. In: Ropper AH, et al. Adams and Victor's Principles of Neurology. 9th ed. New York, N.Y.: McGraw-Hill Medical; 2009. http://www.accessmedicine.com/content.aspx?aID=3633173. Accessed April 17, 2009.
  6. Weil JV. Sleep at high altitude. High Altitude Medicine and Biology. 2004;5:180.
  7. Eckert DJ, et al. Mechanisms of apnea. Progress in Cardiovascular Diseases. 2009;51:313.
  8. Leung RST. Sleep-disordered breathing: Autonomic mechanisms and arrhythmias. Progress in Cardiovascular Diseases. 2009;51:324.
  9. Badr MS. Central sleep apnea syndrome: Treatment. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed April 17, 2009.
  10. Randerrath WJ. 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. In press. Accessed April 17, 2009.
  11. Hastings PC. Adaptive servo-ventilation in heart failure patients with sleep apnea: A real world study. International Journal of Cardiology. 2008. In press. Accessed April 17, 2009.
  12. Morgenthaler TI (expert opinion). Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn. May 22, 2009.

DS00995

June 16, 2009

© 1998-2010 Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research (MFMER). All rights reserved. A single copy of these materials may be reprinted for noncommercial personal use only. "Mayo," "Mayo Clinic," "MayoClinic.com," "EmbodyHealth," "Enhance your life," and the triple-shield Mayo Clinic logo are trademarks of Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research.

Print Share Reprints

Text Size: smaller largerlarger