Overview

Central sleep apnea (CSA) is a form of sleep apnea, which causes you to experience pauses between breaths as you sleep. Typically, central sleep apnea is a complication of other medical issues or medication/drug use. For example, people with heart disease may develop CSA. Healthcare providers focus on treating the underlying condition.

Types of central sleep apnea

There are a few types of central sleep apnea:

  • Primary CSA. Central sleep apnea that has no apparent cause.
  • CSA with Cheyne-Stokes Breathing (CSB). If you have CSB, your breathing goes through cycles. You take frequent breaths followed by pauses in breathing. Each cycle lasts 40 to 90 seconds.
  • CSA due to underlying medical conditions like heart disease or neurological conditions.
  • Treatment-emergent CSA. Sometimes, people who have obstructive sleep apnea develop central sleep apnea after using a continuous positive air pressure (CPAP) machine.
  • CSA due to periodic high-altitude breathing.
  • CSA from taking prescription pain medication that contains opioids or opioid use disorder.
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