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Central sleep apnea

Evidence last reviewed: 19 Feb 2026
Topic last updated: 24 Dec 2024

Summary

Definition

Anamnesis y examen

Principales factores de diagnóstico

  • insomnia, especially sleep-maintenance insomnia
  • poor concentration and attention span
  • observed periodic breathing or cessation of breathing or snoring during sleep (by partner)
  • transient dyspnea that awakens from sleep or prevents sleep onset
  • headaches upon waking
  • complaints of poorly restorative sleep and/or daytime sleepiness
  • periodic breathing during wakefulness
Todos los datos

Otros factores de diagnóstico

  • abnormal heart rhythm or the presence of third or fourth heart sounds
  • focal abnormality on neurologic exam
  • neuromuscular weakness
  • history of endocrine disorders
Todos los datos

Factores de riesgo

  • congestive heart failure
  • stroke
  • renal failure
  • male sex
  • atrial fibrillation
  • age ≥60 years
  • opioid use
  • brainstem lesions
  • neuromuscular weakness
  • acromegaly
  • hypothyroidism
Todos los datos

Pruebas diagnósticas

Primeras pruebas diagnósticas para solicitar

  • overnight polysomnography
Todos los datos

Pruebas diagnósticas que deben considerarse

  • serum thyroid stimulating hormone
  • serum creatinine
  • ECG
  • serum insulin-like growth factor 1 (acromegaly testing)
  • echocardiogram
Todos los datos

Algoritmo de tratamiento

Agudo

without Cheyne-Stokes breathing: due to medical disorder

without Cheyne-Stokes breathing: primary (idiopathic)

with Cheyne-Stokes breathing

due to high-altitude periodic breathing

due to medication or substance misuse

treatment-emergent CSA

Colaboradores

Autores

Bernardo J. Selim, MD

Associate Professor of Medicine

Director of Respiratory Care Unit

Division of Pulmonary, Critical Care, and Sleep Medicine

Mayo Clinic

Rochester

MN

Divulgaciones

BJS declares that he has no competing interests.

Lauren A. Tobias, MD

Assistant Professor of Medicine

Yale University School of Medicine

Department of Internal Medicine

Section of Pulmonary, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine

New Haven

CT

Divulgaciones

LAT declares that she has no competing interests.

Agradecimientos

Dr Bernardo J. Selim and Dr Lauren A. Tobias would like to gratefully acknowledge Dr J. Shirine Allam, Dr Timothy I. Morgenthaler, and Dr Christine H. Won, previous contributors to this topic.

Divulgaciones

JSA and TIM declare that they have no competing interests. CHW declares that she has been a speaker for Respironics CME.

Revisores por pares

Teofilo Lee-Chiong, MD

National Jewish Medical and Research Center

Denver

CO

Divulgaciones

TLC has been reimbursed by the American College of Chest Physicians (ACCP), American Academy of Sleep Medicine, American Thoracic Society, and Cephalon, the manufacturer of modafinil, for attending several conferences. He has been paid by the ACCP for running educational programs and by Elsevier for serving as consultant of the Sleep Medicine Clinics. He has also received research funding from the National Institutes of Health, Respironics, Restore, and Schwarz Pharma, and has been a member of the speakers' bureau for GlaxoSmithKline.

John A. Fleetham, MD, FRCP

Professor

University of British Columbia

Vancouver

Canada

Divulgaciones

JAF declares that he has no competing interests.

Agradecimiento de los revisores por pares

Los temas de BMJ Best Practice se actualizan de forma continua de acuerdo con los desarrollos en la evidencia y en las guías. Los revisores por pares listados aquí han revisado el contenido al menos una vez durante la historia del tema.

Divulgaciones

Las afiliaciones y divulgaciones de los revisores por pares se refieren al momento de la revisión.

Referencias

Nuestros equipos internos de evidencia y editoriales colaboran con colaboradores expertos internacionales y revisores pares para garantizar que brindemos acceso a la información más clínicamente relevante posible.

Artículos principales

American Academy of Sleep Medicine. The AASM international classification of sleep disorders - third edition, text revision (ICSD-3-TR). Jun 2023 [internet publication].Texto completo

Randerath W, Verbraecken J, Andreas S, et al. Definition, discrimination, diagnosis and treatment of central breathing disturbances during sleep. Eur Respir J. 2017 Jan;49(1):1600959.Texto completo  Resumen

Mayer G, Arzt M, Braumann B, et al. German S3 guideline nonrestorative sleep/sleep disorders, chapter "sleep-related breathing disorders in adults," short version: German Sleep Society (Deutsche Gesellschaft für Schlafforschung und Schlafmedizin, DGSM). Somnologie (Berl). 2017;21(4):290-301.Texto completo  Resumen

Aurora RN, Bista SR, Casey KR, et al. Updated adaptive servo-ventilation recommendations for the 2012 AASM guideline: the treatment of central sleep apnea syndromes in adults: practice parameters with an evidence-based literature review and meta-analyses. J Clin Sleep Med. 2016 May 15;12(5):757-61.Texto completo  Resumen

Aurora RN, Chowdhuri S, Ramar K, et al. The treatment of central sleep apnea syndromes in adults: practice parameters with an evidence-based literature review and meta-analyses. Sleep. 2012 Jan 1;35(1):17-40.Texto completo  Resumen

Artículos de referencia

Una lista completa de las fuentes a las que se hace referencia en este tema está disponible para los usuarios con acceso a todo BMJ Best Practice.
  • Diferenciales

    • Obstructive sleep apnea
    • Sleep-related hypoventilation/hypoxemic syndromes
    • Depression
    Más Diferenciales
  • Guías de práctica clínica

    • International classification of sleep disorders, 3rd edition, text revision (ICSD-3-TR)
    • Sleep-disordered breathing and cardiac arrhythmias in adults: mechanistic insights and clinical implications: a scientific statement from the American Heart Association
    Más Guías de práctica clínica
  • Folletos para el paciente

    Sleep apnea in adults (obstructive)

    Más Folletos para el paciente
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