Obesity Hypoventilation Syndrome (OHS) is a type of sleep disordered breathing which is decades old, previously known as Pickwickian syndrome. It can be defined as a combination of hypoxia (low oxygen levels during sleep), hypercapnia (increase in carbon-dioxide levels during daytime), and obesity. This disease builds strain on the heart, and if left untreated it may lead to heart failure.
What is Obesity Hypoventilation Syndrome?
Many overweight people cannot breath enough, resulting in high blood carbon-dioxide levels and blood oxygen levels. Some people having this problem will frequently stop breathing for short periods while asleep. This results in partial awakening or disturbed sleep, which lead to continual sleepiness in the daytime.
Classification of Obesity Hypoventilation Syndrome
- While doing further investigation on the problem, two subtypes are recognized based on the nature of breathing disorder.
- Firstly OHS due to obstructive sleep apnea, which is confirmed due to the occurrence of more than 5 episodes of hypopnea, apnea arousal’s per hour while asleep.
- Second one is OHS because of sleep hypoventilation syndrome. This is due to the rise in carbon-dioxide levels after sleep compared to awaken state and drops in oxygen levels overnight without simultaneous hypopnea or apnea.
Causes of Obesity Hypoventilation Syndrome
- To be precise, the exact cause for OHS is unknown.
- It is usually said as a defect in our brain, due to which breathing control is breached.
- Excessive weight against the chest wall due to obesity, this makes that person hard to take a deep breath.
Symptoms of Obesity Hypoventilation Syndrome
- Bluish color in fingers, skin (cyanosis), toes and lips
- Reddish complexion
- Airway passage in mouth gets narrowed
- Excessive sleepiness during the day
- Depression
- Shortness of breath
- Feeling tired even by a very little effort.
