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I know a 19 year-old female in good shape. She exercises ...

Sent to Health Experts April 23 2006 at 4:01 PM
   

I know a 19 year-old female in good shape. She exercises regularly, runs 3 or 4 miles at a time. At rest she sometimes gasps for breath for unknown reason. She has no other problems or symptoms. One gasp and she seems to have “caught up” and she’s good for another 5 - 10 minutes. I don’t think it bothers her sleep. What is it?

Customer (name blocked for privacy)
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April 23 2006 at 4:26 PM (24 minutes and 54 seconds later)
         
REPLIEDCheck Mark
This friend of yours could be experiencing obstructive sleep apnea or "OSA." What happens is this:
Even in healthy people, the back of the throat relaxes during sleep, but in most cases it does not present a problem. With some there is so much relaxation that there is a bit of reduction in air flow and it produces a snoring sound--many people snore. But in a select group of people, there is complete blockage of airflow for a period of time-you will see the chest cave in like the person is sucking but not getting in any air. Then the obstruction suddenly is relieved and there is a snort, grunt, loud snoring sound and the airway opens, the person starts, awakens slightly and breathing appears normal again. Then the cycle repeats itself, sometimes many times during the night. This is a very dangerous condition because while the airflow is cut off the oxygen level can drop significantly to a lifethreatening level! She should be evaluated by a physician who specializes in sleep disorders so that an overnight sleep test can be scheduled. If this is not what you've observed, let me know!


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April 23 2006 at 6:18 PM (1 hour and 52 minutes and 4 seconds later)
         
Reply to Judy's Post: But this does not interfere with her sleep at all. It seems to happen when she is just sitting around relaxing - not all of the time, just sometimes. It is very noticable at times. I think the punctuation problem in this HTML confused what I wrote initially and gave you the impression that she had a sleeping problem - she does not.
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April 23 2006 at 6:28 PM (10 minutes and 18 seconds later)
         
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I see, sorry. But let me clarify, is she awake when this happens, or drowsy/sleeping?


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April 24 2006 at 4:01 AM (9 hours and 32 minutes and 19 seconds later)
         
Reply to Judy's Post: She is awake, setting on a sofa, in front of a computer, or in a car. Setting and relaxed but not sleeping. Also, I don't think she snores. She sleeps in the same room with her sister who would certainly complain about snoring.
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April 24 2006 at 12:17 PM (8 hours and 16 minutes and 4 seconds later)
         
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The only thing I can come up with would maybe some type of laryngospasm (larynx is voicebox) , or an asthma type problem, but that's not just one or two breaths, and I don't know why this would be at rest and not during exercise. I think we need more of a description of the problem. You could get a pulmonary function test to be sure. A chest xray may be a good idea.


Edited by judi1 on April 24 2006 at 4:47 PM

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