Sleep Therapy Products
Ask us today about the latest technology to treat OSA
Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA)
Obstructive sleep apnea, or OSA, is a sleep
related breathing disorder that causes your
body to stop breathing during sleep. OSA
occurs when the tissue in the back of the throat
collapses and blocks the airway. This keeps air
from getting in to the lungs.
OSA is a common disorder. Estimates for the
number of Americans with OSA vary depending
on the criteria researchers use for the study.
Conservative estimates, however, put the
number of adult Americans with OSA at
approximately 20 million. Men are twice as likely as women to develop
sleep apnea, with excessive weight being the
primary risk factor. OSA is much more common
in women as they enter menopause.
Treatment
CPAP delivers pressurized airflow to sleep
apnea patients who wear a mask that covers
the nose as they sleep. The steady flow of air
from the CPAP machine keeps the airway
open and prevents the pauses in breathing
that characterize OSA.
These pauses in breathing can occur a few
times an hour or even hundreds of times per
night, resulting in severely disrupted sleep,
excessive daytime
sleepiness, and an
increased risk of high
blood pressure, stroke,
and other forms of
cardiovascular disease.