Bappi Lahiri passes away due to obstructive sleep apnea; know all about the condition

Singer and music composer Bappi Lahiri passed away at the age of 69 in Mumbai on February 15. Dr Deepak Namjoshi, his treating doctor and director CritiCare hospital, Juhu, told indianexpress.com that he breathed his last at around 11.40-11.45 pm on Tuesday night. The composer, known to popularise disco music in India, was ailing for many weeks and was suffering from obstructive sleep apnea (OSA).
An official statement from the hospital read, “Bappi Lahiri was suffering from OSA (Obstructive Sleep Apnea) and recurrent chest infection. He was treated Dr Deepak Namjoshi. He was hospitalised in Criticare Hospital, Juhu for 29 days. He recovered well and was discharged home on 15 February. However, after a day at home, his health again deteriorated and he was brought back to Criticare hospital in a critical state and succumbed to his illness at about 11:45 pm. He suffered from Covid infection last year. He had OSA since the last one year. He was admitted on multiple occasions in Criticare Hospital under treatment of Dr Deepak Namjoshi and recovered on all occasions.”
Here’s all you need to know about the sleep disorder.

Obstructive sleep apnea is the most common sleep-related breathing disorder. It causes one to repeatedly stop and start breathing while asleep.
Symptoms
The symptoms of OSA are snoring, daytime fatigue, gasping or choking, sore throat, being forgetful, tired, irritated, having night sweats, nighttime frequent urination, nagging headaches, sexual dysfunction, and mood changes, said Dr Sheetal Radia, consultant otorhinolaryngology  and head and neck  Oncosurgery, Wockhardt Hospitals, Mira Road.
But the most visible and audible symptom of sleep apnea is snoring. According to data available, roughly 34 million Indians suffer from obstructive sleep apnea and the prevalence rate is at 14 per cent in men and 12 per cent in women, said Dr Vishal Sehgal, medical director, Portea Medical. According to Mayoclinic.org, this type of apnea occurs when your throat muscles intermittently relax and block your airway during sleep.
“In fact, sleep apnea may occur multiple times at night, resulting in lack of adequate oxygen supply to the tissues. It can make you suddenly wake up because of blockage in breathing, there disrupting your sleep,” said Dr Sibasish Dey, head, medical affairs of ResMed in an earlier article for indianexpress.com.
Loud snoring is a sign of sleep apnea. (Source: Getty Images)
OSA symptoms among women — drowsiness, fatigue and weaker memory — are often maken as causes of other issues and they don’t get diagnosed, mentioned Dr Sehgal. “This lack of diagnosis or ignorance can lead to type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure and hypertension in women. Sometimes, it can also cause further risks such as hypothyroidism, cognitive impairment, dementia, and depression,” he stated.
Types of sleep apnea
* Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA): This is the most prevalent form wherein throat muscles tend to relax.* Central Sleep Apnea: This is a condition when the brain signals to the muscles that control breathing become irregular.* Complex Sleep Apnea Syndrome: This is a complicated and treatment-emergent situation where the person is affected with both obstructive as well as central sleep apnea.
Risk factors
The risk factors include being overweight, and nasal congestion.

“According to a recent study conducted at the Medical College Georgia at Augusta University, OSA can be a potential cause of depression,” said Dr Dey. He also pointed out that the study showed that OSA was more common in patients with low-income family support, who lived alone and had a lack of social support.
Treatment
According to Dr Dey, one should opt for CPAP Therapy (Continuous Positive Airway Pressure). “It is a standard therapy for managing sleep apnea. A CPAP machine helps you inhale just the right amount of air to keep your lungs and upper airway passages open, preventing breathing pauses, resulting in healthy sleep,” he said. “Use it as per the doctor’s suggestion. Sometimes, these machines are not portable while traveling and patients may find discomfort while sleeping with these machines at night,” Dr Radia opined.
Positive Airway Pressure (PAP) therapy is used wherein the air pressure is adjusted to prevent the upper airway tissues from collapsing during sleep, said Dr Radia, while stating that patients can opt for nasal surgeries for nasal obstruction like septoplasty or polypectomy on sound medical advice.
Prevention
Lifestyle modifications such as weight loss, giving up on smoking, alcohol, maintaining optimum weight, and exercising on a daily basis can help, Dr Radia advised. “If left untreated, OSA can befatal. This sleep disorder is commonly associated with heart-related mortality and morbidity in some patients. It can raise one’s blood pressure, sudden cardiac death, stroke, cardiomyopathy (enlargement of the muscle tissue present in the heart), heart failure, and heart attacks. It leads to low oxygen levels, stresses the heart, increases inflammation and changes in blood vessels. It is imperative to diagnose this condition promptly, avoid neglecting it and seek immediate medical attention,” said Dr Radia.
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