- Idiopathic Central Sleep Apnea (ICSA) is a relatively uncommon disorder and may constitute <5% of patients referred to a sleep clinic.
- Patients with ICSA are commonly older men, and may present with complaints of restless sleep, insomnia, and/or daytime symptoms such as sleepiness and fatigue related to insomnia, sleep fragmentation, and arousals. Typically, these patients are thinner and snore less than patents with obstructive sleep apnea.
- When patients are evaluated in a sleep medicine laboratory, ICSA is characterized by repetitive episodes of central apnea. However, the cycles of periodic breathing are shorter than those seen in patients that have congestive heart failure.
- The diagnosis ICSA should be made only after other potential causes of central sleep apnea have been excluded. As the name implies, the underlying mechanisms for this disorder are not fully understood.
