Sleep Therapy Program for Obstructive Sleep Apnea

Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA) is a potentially serious sleep disorder that causes breathing to repeatedly start and stop for at least 10 seconds while sleeping. There are several types of sleep apnea but OSA is most common. This particular type of apnea occurs when there is an obstruction or blockage in your airway. This obstruction occurs from relaxed muscles along your airway, enlarged tongue or tonsils, airway space being too narrow, or even genetics.

When you have apnea (meaning without breath) the oxygen in your blood drops,  causing an increase in carbon dioxide to build up, due to not breathing. When this occurs it puts strain on your heart, causing an increase in blood pressure. If left untreated, sleep apnea can significantly increase the risk of cardiovascular disease and stroke. 

Recommended treatments for sleep apnea include positive airway pressure devices such as CPAP (Continuous Positive Airway Pressure) or BIPAP (Bilevel Positive Airway Pressure). These devices pull in room air through a machine to create an ambient pressure to “push” open your airway so all the air and oxygen that was getting caught at the obstruction, finally make it through your airway and to vital organs to help prevent things such as stroke, hypertension, heart attacks, ect. Patients who use PAP therapy report an increase in alertness, improved cognitive ability, better quality sleep, lower blood pressures, and more energy.