Sleep apnea device tips you need to know
Sleep apnea devices can be either obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), in which breathing is interrupted by a blockage of airflow, central sleep apnea (CSA), in which regular unconscious breathing simply stops, or a combination of both. OSA is the most common form.
OSA has four key contributors; These include “anatomical compromises” such as a narrow, crowded or collapsible upper airway. Or “non-anatomical” ones such as ineffective function of the pharyngeal dilator muscle during sleep, narrowing of the airway during sleep, or unstable control of breathing (high loop gain).
Other risk factors include obesity, a family history, allergies and enlarged tonsils. Some people with sleep apnea are unaware that they have the condition. In many cases, it is first observed by a family member. Sleep apnea is often diagnosed with an overnight sleep study For sleep apnea to be diagnosed, more than five episodes per hour must occur.
Table of Contents
What is sleep apnea?
Risks and symptoms
When to talk to your doctor
Devices that help people not breathe while sleeping
Hupnos sleep maskSleep Apnea Diagnosis You Need to Know in 2021
Treatment
Sleep Apnea Devices Tips Surgery
What is sleep apnea?
Sleep apnea, also known as sleep apnea, is a sleep disorder in which pauses in breathing or periods of shallow breathing occur more frequently than normal during sleep.
Sleep Apnea Devices, Sleep apnea is a dangerous sleep disorder in people who do not breathe during sleep, causing their breaths to become shallow or stop completely when they are unconscious.
This happens when the upper airway becomes repeatedly blocked - a problem called apnea - preventing the brain and lungs from receiving enough oxygen, leading to severe snoring or even suffocation.
To doctors, this is known as obstructive sleep apnea and is caused either by a person's physical structure or by certain medical conditions.
These include obesity, large tonsils, endocrine disorders, neuromuscular disorders, heart or kidney failure, certain genetic syndromes and premature birth.
The NHS defines the condition as a “relatively common condition in which the walls of the throat relax and constrict during sleep, disrupting normal breathing”.
Undiagnosed or untreated, the common sleep disorders caused by sleep apnea can lead to a reduced quality of life and numerous fatal risks such as heart attack, glaucoma, diabetes, cancer, and cognitive and behavioral disorders.
It can also cause chronic daytime sleepiness, which can be responsible for poor performance in everyday tasks such as work, school, and driving.
There are an estimated 1.5 million people with obstructive sleep apnea in the UK alone, but only 330,000 are expected to receive the treatment they need.
This means that sleep apnea is becoming an area of great interest for many medtech companies. Research from the British Lung Foundation shows that investing in diagnosing and treating the condition could save the NHS £28 million and prevent around 40,000 road accidents each year.
Risks and symptoms
Older adults may be uniquely vulnerable to OSA.
“As we age, we lose muscle tone in the structures at the back of the throat, which can play a role in OSA,” says Raj Dasgupta, MD, a pulmonary and sleep medicine physician at Keck Medicine of USC in Los Angeles.
You may also be more likely to have OSA if you are overweight, have a large neck, are male, or smoke. But many older adults with OSA don't fit this picture.
For example, two to three times as many men as women have OSA, but this gap narrows as women reach menopause. And postmenopausal women's OSA symptoms, such as insomnia and mood swings, may differ from those of men.
Recognizing OSA can also be challenging because you experience it while you sleep. One possible sign: Falling asleep at inconvenient times of day—during a conversation or a car ride—says Douglas Kirsch, MD, past president of the AASM.
When to talk to your doctor
If your partner complains that you snore loudly or have long pauses in breathing followed by gagging or wheezing, make an appointment. And "tell your primary care provider if you don't sleep well at night or don't feel rested when you wake up," says Tiffany Braley, MD, a sleep disorder researcher at the University of Michigan. Do the same if you notice blurred thinking, which may be related to poor sleep.
If the doctor suspects OSA, you should be referred to a sleep specialist, who may recommend a laboratory sleep study or a home test.
During a lab study, you spend the night in a sleep center while technicians monitor how often you stop breathing. A less sensitive home test involves wearing a small device that tracks changes in breathing patterns while you sleep . Check with your health insurance provider before you decide.
Devices that help people not breathe while sleeping
Hupnos sleep mask
Hupnos - the Greek word for sleep - was a new product unveiled last month at CES 2019, the consumer electronics trade show in Las Vegas.
Connected to a smartphone app, the $125 (£96) device monitors the wearer's sleeping position and monitors for snoring.
In response to snoring, the eye and nose mask emits a gentle vibration - not hard enough to completely wake you up, but just enough to move you to change position.
This device consists of Expiratory Positive Airway Pressure (EPAP) technology, which increases the wearer's breathing pressure by opening their airway to prevent snoring.
It is the snorer's own breath that is used to redirect it to open the airway and release the air quietly.
Sleep Apnea Diagnosis You Need to Know in 2021
Your doctor may conduct an evaluation based on your signs and symptoms and a sleep history, which you can do with the help of someone sharing your bed or household, if possible.
You will likely be referred to a sleep disorder center. There, a sleep specialist can help you determine your need for further evaluation.
An evaluation often includes nightly monitoring of your breathing and other body functions while you sleep at a sleep center. Home sleep testing can also be an option. Tests to detect sleep apnea include:
Nocturnal polysomnography. During this test, you are connected to machines that monitor your heart, lung and brain activity, breathing patterns, arm and leg movements, and blood oxygen levels while you sleep.
Home sleep tests. Your doctor may provide you with simplified tests that you can use at home to diagnose sleep apnea. These tests typically measure your heart rate, blood oxygen levels, airflow, and breathing patterns.
If the results are abnormal, your doctor may be able to prescribe therapy without further testing. However, wearable monitors do not detect all cases of sleep apnea, so your doctor may recommend polysomnography even if your initial results are normal.
If you have obstructive sleep apnea, your doctor may refer you to an ear, nose and throat doctor to rule out a blockage in your nose or throat.
An examination by a heart doctor (cardiologist) or a doctor who specializes in the nervous system (neurologist) may be necessary to look for the causes of central sleep apnea.
Treatment
For milder cases of sleep apnea, your doctor may only recommend lifestyle changes, such as: B. Losing weight or quitting smoking. If you have nasal allergies, your doctor will recommend treatment for your allergies.
If these measures do not improve your signs and symptoms or your apnea is moderate to severe, a number of other treatments are available.
Certain devices can help open a blocked airway. In other cases, surgery may be necessary.
Sleep Apnea Devices Tips Surgery
Surgery is usually only an option when other treatments have failed. In general, at least a three-month trial of other treatment options is recommended before considering surgery. However, for a small number of people with certain jaw structure problems, this is a good first option.
Surgical options may include:
Tissue removal. During this procedure (uvulopalatopharyngoplasty), your doctor removes tissue from the back of your mouth and from your throat. Your tonsils and adenoids will usually also be removed.
This type of surgery can be successful in preventing throat structures from vibrating and causing snoring. It is less effective than CPAP and is not considered a reliable treatment for obstructive sleep apnea.
Removing tissue from the back of the throat using radiofrequency energy (radiofrequency ablation) may be an option if you cannot tolerate CPAP or oral appliances.
shrinkage of tissue. Another option is to use radiofrequency ablation to shrink the tissue in the back of the mouth and back of the throat. This procedure can be used for mild to moderate sleep apnea. One study found that this has similar effects to tissue removal, but with fewer surgical risks.
Jaw repositioning. This procedure involves moving your jaw forward away from the rest of your facial bones. This increases the space behind the tongue and soft palate and makes obstruction less likely. This procedure is called maxillomandibular advancement.
Implants. Soft rods, usually made of polyester or plastic, are surgically implanted into the soft palate after local anesthesia. More research is needed to determine how well implants work.
Nerve stimulation. This requires surgery to insert a stimulator for the nerve that controls tongue movement (hypoglossal nerve). The increased stimulation helps keep the tongue in a position that keeps the airway open. Further research is needed.
Creating a new air duct (tracheostomy). You may need this type of surgery if other treatments have failed and you have severe, life-threatening sleep apnea. In this procedure, your surgeon makes an opening in your throat and inserts a metal or plastic tube through which you breathe.
They keep the opening covered during the day. But at night, you uncover it to allow air to flow in and out of your lungs, bypassing blocked air passage
Other surgical procedures can reduce snoring and help treat sleep apnea by clearing or enlarging the airways:
Surgery to remove enlarged tonsils or adenoids
Surgery for weight loss (bariatric)