Respiratory equipments are one of the most blissful inventions in the history of mankind. The reason is because this machine has helped saved the lives of millions of people and is continuing to do so. Respiratory equipments are used by patients or people who are suffering from various sicknesses and breathing problems.

There are various types of respiratory supplies and these include oxygen analyzer which helps in providing continuous flow of oxygen to patients and these are mainly used on those patients who suffer from breathing problems or are undergoing any major surgery. These oxygen analyzers are mostly found in hospitals and in some cases might be at someone’s home as there are people who buy these machines and keep them at home for emergency purposes or they are advised by doctors to do so. Read the rest of this entry

Patients with obstructive sleep apnea who undergo surgery to improve their breathing get a better night’s sleep and therefore are less drowsy during the day, according to a new study from Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit.

The study finds surgery greatly reduces daytime sleepiness when compared to other nonsurgical treatments for obstructive sleep apnea.

“This study validates what patients have told us regarding their improved alertness after surgery,” says study author Kathleen L. Yaremchuk, MD, chair of the Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery at Henry Ford Hospital. Read the rest of this entry

Sleep disorders are becoming more and more common every year. In fact, there are millions of Americans who have at least one of these disorders. The most frequent sleep disorders are insomnia and snoring; however, the most dangerous disorder is sleep apnea. Sleep apnea occurs when a person stops breathing during the night for lapses of one minute. 

There are three kinds of sleep apnea: obstructive sleep apnea, central sleep apnea and mixed sleep apnea. Obstructive sleep apnea occurs when there is an obstruction of the airway passages of your body. On the other hand, Central sleep apnea means that the airway passages are not blocked; instead, the brain is not able to properly control the muscles involved in breathing. Finally, mixed sleep apnea is a case when the two mentioned cases are combined.  Read the rest of this entry

Ohio State University’s Richard M. Ross Heart Hospital implants a type of pacemaker in the first U.S. patient to receive the device to study it for the treatment of central sleep apnea in heart failure patients.

Central sleep apnea is a dangerous form of the disorder that can cause patients to hyperventilate during the night, and the implant should deliver small electrical impulses during sleep to restore more natural breathing.

“There are 6 million people with heart failure in the United States today. Eighty percent of them have sleep apnea and about half of those have central sleep apnea,” says Dr. William Abraham, director of the division of cardiovascular medicine at The Ohio State University Medical Center, and principal investigator of the safety and feasibility trial. “Literally millions of patients may be eligible for treatment with this device.” Read the rest of this entry

SleepApneaDisorder/ [ Press Release ]/ –Have you ever had the pleasure of sleeping, or trying to sleep, next to your spouse or loved one who pushes the decibels into the upper ranges with his or her snoring problem? If so, you will understand the need those who suffer from snoring and sleep apnea have for effective and economical remedies to help them with this terrible condition. That is why the developers of the new website, MouthGuardforSnoring.com, have striven to include some of the best information on the mouth guard for snoring, sleep apnea mouthpiece, jaw supporter for snoring and some of the other best snoring aids available on the market.MouthGuardforSnoring.com is focused primarily on the wide range of inexpensive snoring aids available rather than the more invasive and expensive methods. It is an informational site with links and photos to some of the best snoring aids, but does not offer any specific medical advice, as this is a task best suited to individuals’ personal physicians. However, it is no secret that most folks, when faced with a terrible snoring problem, would look first online to find information. Based on this information, they may purchase some of the inexpensive snoring remedies in hopes of solving their problem permanently, without having to take more drastic steps. Read the rest of this entry

In 2010, Twersky founded 1-800-Snoring to help chronic snorers get a better night’s sleep.  Snoring is often seen simply as an annoyance to spouses, partners or family members of snorers, but Twersky said sleep-related breathing disorders can be potentially fatal conditions.  Sleep apnea, for example, can cause the sufferer to stop breathing for up to ten seconds, increasing the risk of health complications including cardiovascular issues and hypertension.

Like 1-800-Dentist, 1-800-Snoring was created to accomplish one goal: to provide people with high-quality care from doctors in their area.  To that end, part of the company’s business plan includes hosting seminars and Web presentations to further educate its dental and medical professionals about snoring and sleep apnea issues so they can better help patients who use the service.  To ensure that all facets of sleep apnea care are included in its service, 1-800-Snoring is also maintains working relationships with sleep labs, cardiologists, pulmonologists, home sleep testing companies, medical equipment providers, manufacturers of Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP) ventilators, and the American Academy of Sleep Apnea.

Since its launch less than a year ago, 1-800-Snoring has already had thousands of calls each month and tens of thousands of inquiries on its website from patients in need of a solution to their snoring. [ Read Complete Post By  Nicole Fallon at BussinessNewsDaily.Com ...  ]

The Sleep Lab at Our Lady of Bellefonte Hospital will take part in National Sleep Awareness Week March 6-13 and will be hosting a sleep screening and providing information from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Wednesday, March 9, at the Ashland Town Center Mall.

Polysomnography technologists from the sleep lab will offer free screenings and provide information concerning sleep requirements, sleep disorders and overcoming stumbling blocks to a good night’s rest.

Other activities scheduled for the week include a CPAP mask refitting workshop from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Tuesday, March 8, at the hospital campus location of the OLBH Sleep Lab. The workshop will also feature demonstrations of the newest varieties of masks. Door prizes will be awarded and refreshments will be served.

The Sleep Lab will also host a free support group for individuals with sleep apnea at 6 p.m. Thursday, March 10, at Bellefonte Centre, 1000 Ashland Drive, in the fifth floor conference room. Those interested in attending should register by calling 606-833-3993.

Dr. Mary E. Lucido demonstrates the proper way to put on an ambulatory sleep apnea device

Sleep apnea is not just a “grown-up” disease. Hyperactivity, loud snoring, weight loss, chronic mouth breathing, sleepwalking and frequent throat infections in children all could be a sign of sleep apnea.

Once a patient is diagnosed with a sleep disorder, the focus shifts to what type of solution is best for them. While the CPAP machine has become the best known and widely utilized, other options also are available.

“There are several designs now that open up the airways,” Lucido said. “For people who are not able to use a CPAP machine, this is another alternative. Also, if someone with a CPAP machine travels a lot, it is much easier to take an oral appliance with them and use it as a temporary solution.”

Lucido said she gets nervous when she sees “quick fix” solutions for snoring advertised on television. “Many times, those products can treat the symptom without dealing with the real problem,” she said. [ Read Complete Post By FRED POLLARD at The Telegraph ...  ]

SleepApneaDisorder/[ Press Release ] / BELMONT, Calif., March 3, 2011 / Ventus Medical, Inc. a privately-held medical device company dedicated to providing novel products to treat sleep-disordered breathing, today announced that it has received CE Mark for its Provent® Sleep Apnea Therapy.

“We are pleased to accomplish this important regulatory milestone. Receiving CE Mark for Provent Therapy will facilitate our international commercialization strategy and allow us to launch this product in selected countries over the next several months,” said Peter Wyles, president and chief executive officer of Ventus Medical. “We intend to introduce Provent Therapy internationally in a systematic way through established distributors, focusing on countries with a high prevalence of obstructive sleep apnea. There is a clear need for therapeutic options other than CPAP and Provent Therapy represents an attractive new alternative.” Read the rest of this entry

A peer-reviewed study in the February issue of Sleep Medicine found that Provent Sleep Apnea Therapy, a noninvasive, disposable nasal device, improved obstructive sleep apnea (OSA)—as measured by the number of breathing disruptions during sleep—in more than half of patients, leading them to feel more alert during the day. The study was conducted in patients who either had refused or were noncompliant with CPAP therapy.

The study, conducted at St Luke’s Hospital Sleep Medicine and Research Center in Chesterfield, Mo, included 59 patients and is titled “A convenient expiratory positive airway pressure nasal device for the treatment of sleep apnea in patients non-adherent with continuous positive airway pressure.” Read the rest of this entry

The options for oral appliances fall in two main categories: prescription devices you can get from a dentist or orthodontist and do-it-yourself products you can order online. All work by moving the lower jaw forward to create extra space in the airway, but they vary wildly in terms of cost.

Prescription devices such as the TAP 3 (short for Thornton adjustable positioner) are crafted in a lab to fit each individual mouth. They can cost roughly $2,000 to $3,000, including dentist fees. The TAP comes with an adjustment key that enables patients to gradually move the jaw a few millimeters at a time. It generally lasts three to five years.

Many dentists offer plastic “boil-and-bite” devices, such as the TheraSnore, that can be fitted during your visit for $300 to $800.

If that still sounds like a lot of money for a quiet night’s sleep, you might be tempted by an over-the-counter anti-snoring appliance. The VitalSleep appliance from the Stop Snoring Co. sells for about $40. It’s supposed to last about a year.[ Read Complete Post By Chris Woolston, Special At Los Angeles Times...  ]

Campbell County Memorial Hospital and the American Sleep Apnea Association have teamed up to form AWAKE, a sleep apnea awareness group.

AWAKE or Alert, Well, and Keeping Energetic is a quarterly health awareness group for people with sleep apnea. Sleep apnea is a condition in which people experience periods of time when they stop breathing while sleeping.

The group will meet from 7 to 8 p.m. Tuesday in Campbell County Public Library’s Wyoming Room.

The group is free and anyone with questions about snoring, daytime sleepiness, restless legs, insomnia, unexplained high blood pleasure or those using C-PAP or B-PAP machines for sleep apnea should attend.

Guest speaker Patty Wilson will tell her experiences with sleep apnea. The hospital’s sleep disorders clinic also will be present to answer any questions.

For more information, call Dessie Hoxie at the Sleep Disorders Clinic at 688-2350 or visit www.ccmh.net.

The Canadian Thoracic Society released new guidelines on sleep disordered breathing, which provide the latest recommendations for sleep apnea diagnosis and treatment. The guidelines are created for health-care professionals by physicians who are experts in sleep disordered breathing. They are designed to keep health-care professionals up to date on the most recent evidence about how to diagnose and manage sleep apnea.

What is Sleep Apnea?

Sleep apnea is a serious breathing disorder that causes sufferers to have dozens or hundreds of breathing pauses or “apneas” per night. These repeated periods of breathing pauses during sleep and the chronic sleep deprivation they cause have both physical and psychological consequences. People with untreated sleep apnea are more likely to have motor vehicle crashes, hypertension, and heart attacks, irregular heart beat stroke, depression, impotence and diabetes. Read the rest of this entry