Apnea

Apnea, apnoea, or apnœa (Greek: ἄπνοια, from ἀ-, privative, πνέειν, to breathe) is a term for suspension of external breathing. During apnea, there is no movement of the muscles of inhalation and the volume of the lungs initially remains unchanged. Depending on how blocked the airways are (patency), there may or may not be a flow of gas between the lungs and the environment; gas exchange within the lungs and cellular respiration is not affected.

Cause

Apnea can be voluntarily achieved, drug-induced (such as opiate toxicity or tryptamine toxicity), mechanically induced (for example, by strangulation or choking), or it can occur as a consequence of neurological disease or trauma. During sleep in patients who are suffering from sleep apnea, these events will occur up to 20–30 times per hour, every night.

Apnea can also be observed during periods of heightened emotion, such as during crying or accompanied by the Valsalva maneuver when a person laughs..

Voluntary apnea can be achieved by closing the vocal cords, simultaneously keeping the mouth closed and blocking the nasal vestibule, or constantly activating expiratory muscles.

Apnea (song)

"Apnea" ("Apnoea") is a song recorded and written by Guatemalan recording artist Ricardo Arjona, released on March 4 2014. The song is the lead single from his fourteenth studio album, Viaje. At the beginning of 2014, Arjona explained to People en Espanol that he couldn't find another perfect word to describe his past and reminiscing about his memories "Apnea" was the best word to fulfill his journey (Viaje). The music video was nominated for Video of the Year at the Lo Nuestro Awards of 2015.

Charts

Year-end charts

References