Doctors treating the veteran composer and singer said that he had been battling obstructive sleep apnea since 2021 and succumbed to the sleep disorder on Tuesday night

Ten days after losing her nightingale, Lata Mangeshkar, on February 6, India lost 'Disco King' Bappi Lahiri to obstructive sleep apnea in a private hospital in Mumbai on February 16.

Doctors at Mumbai's CritiCare hospital, who were treating the veteran singer and ace composer, told news agency PTI that he had multiple health issues and died shortly before midnight from OSA (obstructive sleep apnea).

Here's a look at what OSA is, what causes it, and how it can lead to death in some cases.

What exactly is sleep apnea?

Sleep apnea is a potentially dangerous sleep disorder in which breathing stops and starts repeatedly.

It happens when the muscles that support your throat's soft tissues, such as your tongue and soft palate, relax.

This causes your airway to narrow or even close, cutting off your breathing for a brief period of time.

Air should normally flow smoothly from the mouth and nose into the lungs at all times, including while sleeping.

Periods when breathing stops completely are called apnea or apneic episodes. In OSA, the normal flow of air is repeatedly stopped throughout the night.

Those suffering from OSA may not sleep well but they probably won't know that it’s happening with them.

There are different types of sleep apnea:

• Obstructive sleep apnea is the most common type, which occurs when the muscles in the throat relax. You may begin to jerk your body or breathe with loud gasps. This can disrupt your sleep, reduce the flow of oxygen to your vital organs, and cause irregular heart rhythms.
• Central sleep apnea occurs when your brain fails to tell your muscles to breathe due to problems with your respiratory control centre.
• Complex sleep apnea syndrome, also known as treatment-emergent central sleep apnea, occurs when you have both obstructive and central sleep apnea.

What are the symptoms of sleep apnea?

The person suffering from sleep apnea won’t catch the symptoms of the disease and in most cases, the bed partner will detect that something is wrong.

The most common signs of one suffering from the disease are:

• Loud snoring
• Episodes in which you stop breathing during sleep — which would be reported by another person
• Gasping for air during sleep
• Awakening with a dry mouth
• Morning headache
• Difficulty staying asleep {insomnia}
• Excessive daytime sleepiness {hypersomnia}
• Difficulty paying attention while awake
• Irritability
• Night sweats

How do doctors determine if a person has sleep apnea?

It is difficult to diagnose sleep apnea because most people are unaware that they have the disease.

However, the doctor will consider the patient's family history of sleep apnea or other sleep disorders, as well as whether the patient has a risk factor for the condition.

In some cases, doctors will order a sleep test to monitor the heart and brain activity while the patient is sleeping.

Is obstructive sleep apnea dangerous?

It is a disease, and in addition to the headaches and agitation, it may lead to more serious complications.

Untreated sleep apnea, according to doctors, can result in hypertension (high blood pressure), heart disease, stroke, diabetes, abnormal heart rhythm, and pulmonary hypertension.

It could also result in death in extreme cases, such as Bappi Lahiri's.

In India, sleep apnea is common.

During a 2021 conference, doctors reported that approximately 40 lakh people in India, primarily the elderly and obese, suffer from obstructive sleep apnea.

According to Dr. Srinivas Kishore S, Director Department of Otorhinolaryngology, being overweight is one of the leading causes of sleep apnea in India.

"A sizable proportion of them were overweight but not necessarily obese. Nonetheless, they were having difficulty breathing. This implies that changes in lifestyle are causing not only diabetes and high blood pressure, but also Obstructive Sleep Apnea "He was reported to have said. Dr Seemab Shaikh, founder president of the Indian Association of Surgeons for Sleep Apnea, also noted that the coronavirus pandemic has contributed significantly to the rise in sleep apnea cases.

Sleep apnea treatment

Doctors will prescribe various treatments based on the severity of the disease. In mild cases, lifestyle changes may be all that is required. Doctors may advise a patient to lose weight, quit smoking, or treat nasal allergies if they exist.

In more serious cases, the doctor may advise the use of a CPAP machine (continuous positive airway pressure). While you're sleeping, this machine sends air pressure through a mask. This air pressure is higher than the surrounding air pressure, which helps keep your upper airway passages open and prevents apnea and snoring.

If other treatment options do not work, your doctor may recommend surgery.