This improves blood flow to the heart. muscle and relieves symptoms (usually chest pain). Stents are used depending on certain features of the. artery blockage. Factors that affect whether a stent can. be used include the size of the artery and where the. blockage is.
Usually, this gasping or agonal breathing stops within about four minutes, which is why many experts have not recognized this phenomenon so far! Gasping is a survival reflex triggered by the brain and can increase the chances of survival for someone in cardiac arrest.
Central sleep apnea is a breathing disorder that occurs during sleep and results when the brain fails to activate the respiratory muscles. This leads to a brief pause in breathing that may last 10 seconds or longer. Unlike the more standard obstructive sleep apnea - which is caused when the upper airway becomes temporarily obstructed - in central sleep apnea, the effort to breathe stops and there is no clear obstruction of the airway. Though the cause is slightly different, the outcome of central sleep apnea is the same.