Alternate Names: Respiration slowed or stopped; Respiratory arrest; Apnea

Considerations:

Apnea is a life-threatening disorder that requires immediate medical attention.

In infants (particularly those who were born prematurely) and children, the most common cause of cardiac arrest (lack of an effective heartbeat) is respiratory arrest. In adults, the opposite occurs; cardiac arrest leads to respiratory arrest.

Common Causes:

• breath-holding spells
• head or brain stem injury
• near-drowning
• foreign object aspiration or ingestion
• drug overdose (see drug abuse first aid)
• cardiac arrest
• bronchospasm (asthma)
• sleep apnea
• bronchiolitis
• drugs such as alcohol, anesthetics, anticholinesterase inhibitors, barbiturates, curariform drugs (with aminoglycosides), diazepam (with CNS depressants) and narcotic analgesics

Home Care:

If a person has stopped breathing, emergency measures should be taken, and call for emergency help! Also see the information on CPR under the Injuries heading.

Call If:

• there is any interruption in spontaneous breathing. This is an emergency! Call 911 (or your local emergency number) and begin CPR if breathing has stopped.

What To Expect:

In an emergency room or by an ambulance EMT (emergency medical technician), CPR or other emergency measures will be provided.

Once the patient is in a stable state, the medical history will be obtained and a physical examination performed.

Medical history questions documenting absent breathing in detail may include:

• time pattern
• Has this ever happened before?
• How long did the event last?
• Has the person had repeated, brief episodes of apnea?
• Did the episode end with a sudden deep snorting breath?
• recent heath history
• Has there been any recent history of an accident or injury?
• Has the person been ill recently?
• other
• Does the person use street drugs?
• What medication does the person take?
• Has there been any breathing difficulty before the breathing stopped?
• What other symptoms are also present?

A general physical examination will be performed, including listening for heart sounds and breath sounds. The heart and lungs will be monitored. Diagnostic tests will be determined by the results of history and physical examination data.

Diagnostic tests that may be performed are:

• chest X-ray
• ECG
• arterial blood gas

After seeing your health care provider:
You may want to add a diagnosis related to apnea to your personal medical record.