Oxygen Is Falling Down, Falling Down...

摘要

Breathing is a rhythmic periodic permanent activity. When for any cause it ceases, one of the most obvious and dangerous consequences is the decrease in oxygen distribution to the tissues. During an apnea, oxygen saturation slowly falls as the body consumes the available oxygen that cannot be replaced. This fact is seemingly simple and straightforward. The seminal work of the Toronto group studying patients with obstructive apneas related to sleep has established that the average level of oxygen available when apneas are present is determined not just by one element (for instance, apnea length), but by the combined influence of three main factors (1).