When to Consider Investing in a CPAP
May 01, 2023
With sleep apnea, you experience involuntary pauses in breathing while you sleep — called apneic events. It’s a sleep disorder that not only makes it hard to function during the day because you don’t get high quality sleep, but also puts you at risk of developing other health problems like high blood pressure and heart disease.
Continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) therapy is one of the primary treatments for sleep apnea. When is it time to consider investing in CPAP?
At NY Metro Sleep in the Bronx, New York, our sleep medicine expert, Dr. Rajendra M. Rampersaud, completes a sleep study to diagnose sleep apnea and determine the best treatment.
Read on to learn more about CPAP for sleep apnea and when to consider this therapy to manage the sleep disorder.
CPAP therapy is one of the main treatments for people with moderate to severe sleep apnea. If you have sleep apnea, you stop and restart breathing multiple times during your sleep.
The two types of sleep apnea include:
OSA is the most common type and occurs when the muscles in the back of the throat relax when you sleep, blocking the airway passage.
CSA occurs when the brain fails to send the right signals to the muscles that manage breathing while you sleep.
CPAP is a breathing machine that creates positive air pressure through a tube that goes into a mask you wear over your nose, or nose and mouth. The pressure created by the CPAP machine keeps the airway open, helping you breathe continuously while you sleep.
CPAP is one of the main treatments for sleep apnea because it’s effective. However, there are reasons you might debate whether to invest in a CPAP machine. Here are some of the pros and cons of CPAP.
Pros of CPAP:
Cons of CPAP:
One of the primary reasons people may hesitate moving ahead with a CPAP machine to manage their sleep apnea is discomfort. You may find it hard to get into a comfortable position for sleeping when wearing the CPAP mask. But CPAP machines and masks come in different sizes and styles, which makes it easier to find ones that work best for you.
For our sleep apnea patients, we do a CPAP therapy sleep study to help find the mask and machine that provides the best results with the fewest side effects.
You should consider CPAP if your sleep medicine doctor thinks it is your best choice. We also recommend other treatments to improve breathing while you sleep, including smoking cessation, weight loss, and positional therapy (changing your sleeping position).
We also offer a dental sleep appliance for our patients with OSA that prevents the throat muscles from collapsing. Many people find the dental sleep appliance more comfortable than the CPAP machine.
When it comes to sleep apnea, no single therapy works for all. Improving the quality of your sleep is our number one goal, and we work closely with you to find the therapy that helps you sleep better.
If you’re considering CPAP for sleep apnea or want to talk about other options, we can help. Call our office today or book an appointment online to schedule your evaluation.