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Continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) is the gold standard of treatment for moderate to severe sleep apnea. Andrew R. Freedman, MD, and Gichel Watson, RPAC, at Pulmonary and Sleep Medicine Group, LLC, determine if you have sleep apnea and whether it disrupts your sleep enough to need CPAP. While their offices are in Monroe, New Jersey, and Evanston, Wyoming, they provide comprehensive care for sleep problems and prescribe CPAP through telemedicine. To learn more, call or connect online to request a telemedicine appointment.
CPAP is a treatment that keeps your airways open while you sleep. Your CPAP device sends a consistent flow of pressurized air into your nose and/or mouth. The air prevents tissues from collapsing and covering your airway.
CPAP treats obstructive and central sleep apnea:
OSA occurs when muscles relax while you sleep. This lets your tongue fall back toward your throat while the tissues surrounding your airway collapse. As a result, they cover your airway, and you briefly stop breathing 5-30 times or more every hour.
If you have central sleep apnea, your breathing repeatedly stops and starts while sleeping because your brain doesn’t send messages to the muscles that control breathing. Central sleep apnea often occurs due to another health problem, such as cardiovascular disease, a stroke, or traumatic brain injuries.
The first signs you may need CPAP come in the form of symptoms such as:
The only way to know you need CPAP is to do a home sleep test. Home sleep studies give your provider the information needed to diagnose sleep apnea and determine if CPAP therapy is the best treatment.
CPAP devices consist of a mask and a tube connecting it to the machine that sends out pressurized air. Your provider recommends the most appropriate CPAP machine and mask. Some masks cover your nose; others go over your nose and mouth. You may be able to use a nasal pillow mask, which only covers your nostrils.
When you turn the machine on at night, it takes in room air, filters and pressurizes it, and sends it through the tube into your mask. The gentle flow of air stabilizes your breathing and prevents sleep apnea.
Your provider also teaches you how to clean the device. This is essential for removing bacteria and mold that thrive in a moist environment.
If you suspect you have sleep apnea, call Pulmonary and Sleep Medicine Group, LLC, or request a telemedicine appointment online today.