Table of ContentsView AllTable of ContentsTypesUseIf Symptoms PersistOngoing ManagementFactors to ConsiderFAQNext in Sleep Apnea GuideSleep Apnea Facts and Statistics: What You Need to Know
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Table of Contents
Types
Use
If Symptoms Persist
Ongoing Management
Factors to Consider
FAQ
Next in Sleep Apnea Guide
Sleep apnea devices help people to breathe and sleep better. Sleep apnea is a condition that causes intermittent breathing interruptions during sleep. The most common type is obstructive sleep apnea (OSA).
Untreated sleep apnea can lead to serious medical complications, including heart disease, stroke, diabetes, and even sudden death.
Positive airway pressure (PAP) therapy, usually with a continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) device, helps manage symptoms. PAP therapy involves blowing pressurized air into the airways using a small mask placed over the nose or nose and mouth.
A 30-year study of people with OSA found that using CPAP for over five years significantly reduced the risk of death, as well as developing diabetes or heart disease.However, CPAP machines are only one option for treating and managing sleep apnea.
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Types of Sleep Apnea Devices
Many differentsleep apneadevices are available to help alleviate symptoms. Your healthcare provider can guide you toward the device most appropriate for your condition.
CPAP Machine
CPAP machinesare the most common sleep apnea devices. They include a mask, filter, and tubing that connects to a device that blows compressed air into your lungs as you sleep.
The definitive way to diagnoseobstructive sleep apneais through anovernight home or in-laboratory sleep study (polysomnogram). During a sleep study, your eye and leg movements, heart rate and rhythms, and breathing rate will be recorded while you sleep.
A sleep specialist will also record yourapnea-hypopnea index (AHI), which measures the number of breathing interruptions you experience in an hour. Your AHI will determine whether you have mild, moderate, or severe sleep apnea.
If OSA is found to be severe during at least two hours of the diagnostic in-lab recording, you may undergo a split-night study, which means that titration with PAP will be initiated during the same night.
During a split-night study, titration will occur, which determines what level of air pressure will resolve your sleep apnea symptoms. You can then be fitted properly for a CPAP mask to ensure that it doesn’t leak. For best results, you should use your CPAP mask every night.
CPAP Mask Options
Consult with your sleep specialist about which mask options are best for your PAP therapy. These include:
BiPAP Machine
Bilevel PAP (BiPAP)may be used when pressures required for CPAP are relatively high and some people havedifficulty tolerating high CPAP pressures.
BiPAP machines deliver compressed air at different pressure levels as you inhale and exhale.The pressure differences may help you avoid gas, bloating, and other potential CPAP side effects.
AutoPAP Machine
Auto-adjusting, or AutoPAP, devicescan also be easier to tolerate than CPAP machines if higher pressure disrupts your sleep. AutoPAP machines adjust the air pressure level throughout the night to keep it as low as possible.
EPAP Device
Some EPAP devices have been FDA-cleared for treating OSA, but others are only cleared for reducing snoring. When choosing an EPAP device, be sure to check which device is right for you.
Implant Systems
Many of the newest sleep apnea devices are implant systems, such as Inspire. Implant systems consist of small devices that use neurostimulation to keep the airways open.If it is appropriate for your condition, the device is surgically implanted into the neck and chest wall.
Implant systems sense your breathing and stimulate the nerves of your upper airway and tongue to keep your tongue from blocking your airway.
Oral Appliances
Oral appliances move the jaw forward, which pulls the tongue forward, leaving more room at the back of your throat. This allows air to flow in and out during sleep and avoids obstruction.
Positional Therapy Devices
Some people with OSA find that sleeping on their side or adjusting their position during sleep can help with snoring, gasping, and choking during the night.
Available positional therapy devices include lumbar or abdominal binders, backpacks, full-length pillows, tennis balls attached to the back of nightwear, and alarms with positional sensors.
You can also use the following pillow designs in addition to PAP therapy:
Getting Used to Your CPAP
It can take some time to get used to your CPAP machine at first. Here are a few ways to make sure that you feel as comfortable as possible.
CPAP BenefitsIn a 2016 study, people with moderate to severe OSA who regularly used a CPAP device experienced long-term improvements in their quality of life.
CPAP Benefits
In a 2016 study, people with moderate to severe OSA who regularly used a CPAP device experienced long-term improvements in their quality of life.
If Sleep Apnea Symptoms Persist
If your sleep apnea symptoms persist despite regular use of a CPAP device, talk to your healthcare provider. You may notice any of the following signs or symptoms:
If your sleep apnea symptoms aren’t getting better, your doctor may recommend that you try a different mask or device. It might also be time to adjust the pressure levels of your machine (titration).
What Is Complex Sleep Apnea?Complex sleep apneais a combination of OSA, in which the upper airways collapse during sleep, andcentral sleep apnea(CSA), in which the brain doesn’t send the right signals to the body to help you continue breathing through the night.Mixed apnea may also occur in a small minority of people after CPAP therapy is used.If CPAP therapy doesn’t help you or makes your symptoms worse, you could have complex sleep apnea.
What Is Complex Sleep Apnea?
Complex sleep apneais a combination of OSA, in which the upper airways collapse during sleep, andcentral sleep apnea(CSA), in which the brain doesn’t send the right signals to the body to help you continue breathing through the night.Mixed apnea may also occur in a small minority of people after CPAP therapy is used.If CPAP therapy doesn’t help you or makes your symptoms worse, you could have complex sleep apnea.
Complex sleep apneais a combination of OSA, in which the upper airways collapse during sleep, andcentral sleep apnea(CSA), in which the brain doesn’t send the right signals to the body to help you continue breathing through the night.
Mixed apnea may also occur in a small minority of people after CPAP therapy is used.If CPAP therapy doesn’t help you or makes your symptoms worse, you could have complex sleep apnea.
In addition to using your sleep apnea devices as prescribed, there are several ways you canprevent and manage your OSA symptoms. These behavioral changes may include:
By making these changes and using your CPAP device regularly, you can also lower your risk of developing complications from OSA, such as heart disease, stroke, and diabetes.
There are several factors to keep in mind when you choose the best CPAP device for you, including:
Device Cost
Sleep apnea device costis important to consider when choosing the option that works best for you.
Keep in mind that there may be additional costs associated with each of these devices. These may include copays, follow-up visits, and accessories.
For example, you’ll most likely need to replace the mask, tubing, and/or filter on your CPAP device every few months. If you purchase an additional CPAP machine—such as a portable model for travel—you will likely need to cover that cost out-of-pocket.
Surgery and Anesthesia
Sleep Apnea and AnesthesiaWaking up from anesthesia can pose additional risks and challenges for those with sleep apnea. It’s important to let your medical team know about your sleep apnea diagnosis before you undergo any surgical procedure involving anesthesia.
Sleep Apnea and Anesthesia
Waking up from anesthesia can pose additional risks and challenges for those with sleep apnea. It’s important to let your medical team know about your sleep apnea diagnosis before you undergo any surgical procedure involving anesthesia.
Summary
Sleep apnea is a common medical condition that causes intermittent pauses in breathing during sleep. The most common type isobstructive sleep apnea (OSA). Untreated sleep apnea can lead toserious health complications, such as heart disease and stroke, as well as sudden death.
The first choice of treatment for OSA is positive airway pressure (PAP) therapy, usually with a continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) machine. In addition to CPAP machines, other sleep apnea devices include BiPAP machines, AutoPAP machines, EPAP devices, positional therapy, oral appliances, and implant systems. In certain cases, surgery may be an option.
If you have a CPAP machine, it’s important to use it every night to reduce your risk of sleep apnea-related health complications. If your sleep apnea symptoms persist despite regular use, you may need a new mask, a different device, or a second titration study to determine your optimal air pressure level.
You can also prevent and manage sleep apnea symptoms with lifestyle changes, such as exercise, healthy sleep habits, weight loss, stress management, quitting smoking, and reducing your alcohol intake.
Frequently Asked Questions
CPAP machines can cause discomfort, especially if the mask is poorly fitted. They can also cause nosebleeds, dry mouth, skin irritation, claustrophobia, red eye, headaches, shortness of breath, pain in the lungs, and dizziness. Some people might experience bloating and gas from aerophagia (swallowing air).
20 SourcesVerywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke.Sleep apnea.Division of Sleep Medicine - Harvard Medical School.Understanding PAP.Dodds S, Williams LJ, Roguski A, et al.Mortality and morbidity in obstructive sleep apnoea-hypopnoea syndrome: results from a 30-year prospective cohort study.ERJ Open Res. 2020;6(3):00057-2020. doi:10.1183/23120541.00057-2020Johns Hopkins Medicine.What happens in a sleep study?SleepApnea.org.Apnea-Hypopnea Index (AHI).SleepApnea.org.What is a CPAP titration sleep study?Genta PR, Kaminska M, Edwards BA, et al.The importance of mask selection on continuous positive airway pressure outcomes for obstructive sleep apnea. An official American thoracic society workshop report.Annals ATS. 2020;17(10):1177-1185. doi: 10.1513/AnnalsATS.202007-864STSleepApnea.org.Aerophagia.Lorenzi-Filho G, Almeida FR, Strollo PJ.Treating OSA: Current and emerging therapies beyond CPAP.Respirology. 2017;22(8):1500-1507. doi:10.1111/resp.13144.Inspire.Welcome to being an Inspire therapy patient.Division of Sleep Medicine - Harvard Medical School.Nonsurgical treatments.Harvard Health Publishing - Harvard Medical School.Beyond CPAP: Other options for sleep apnea.Clebak KT, Demetriou TJ, Carey S.Positional therapy for obstructive sleep apnea.Am Fam Physician. 2020;101(1):16-17.Harvard Health Publishing - Harvard Medical School.I can’t tolerate CPAP, what can I do?Batool-Anwar S, Goodwin JL, Kushida CA, et al.Impact of continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) on quality of life in patients with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA).J Sleep Res. 2016;25(6):731-738. doi:10.1111/jsr.12430Zhang J, Wang L, Guo HJ, Wang Y, Cao J, Chen BY.Treatment-emergent central sleep apnea: a unique sleep-disordered breathing.Chin Med J (Engl). 2020;133(22):2721-2730. doi:10.1097/CM9.0000000000001125SleepApnea.org.Does Insurance Cover CPAP?University of Michigan Health. Michigan Medicine.Surgical alternatives to CPAP.Anesthesia Patient Safety Foundation.Anesthesia safety always an issue with obstructive sleep apnea.American Academy of Sleep Medicine.FDA reclassifies positive airway pressure as a Class II medical device.
20 Sources
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke.Sleep apnea.Division of Sleep Medicine - Harvard Medical School.Understanding PAP.Dodds S, Williams LJ, Roguski A, et al.Mortality and morbidity in obstructive sleep apnoea-hypopnoea syndrome: results from a 30-year prospective cohort study.ERJ Open Res. 2020;6(3):00057-2020. doi:10.1183/23120541.00057-2020Johns Hopkins Medicine.What happens in a sleep study?SleepApnea.org.Apnea-Hypopnea Index (AHI).SleepApnea.org.What is a CPAP titration sleep study?Genta PR, Kaminska M, Edwards BA, et al.The importance of mask selection on continuous positive airway pressure outcomes for obstructive sleep apnea. An official American thoracic society workshop report.Annals ATS. 2020;17(10):1177-1185. doi: 10.1513/AnnalsATS.202007-864STSleepApnea.org.Aerophagia.Lorenzi-Filho G, Almeida FR, Strollo PJ.Treating OSA: Current and emerging therapies beyond CPAP.Respirology. 2017;22(8):1500-1507. doi:10.1111/resp.13144.Inspire.Welcome to being an Inspire therapy patient.Division of Sleep Medicine - Harvard Medical School.Nonsurgical treatments.Harvard Health Publishing - Harvard Medical School.Beyond CPAP: Other options for sleep apnea.Clebak KT, Demetriou TJ, Carey S.Positional therapy for obstructive sleep apnea.Am Fam Physician. 2020;101(1):16-17.Harvard Health Publishing - Harvard Medical School.I can’t tolerate CPAP, what can I do?Batool-Anwar S, Goodwin JL, Kushida CA, et al.Impact of continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) on quality of life in patients with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA).J Sleep Res. 2016;25(6):731-738. doi:10.1111/jsr.12430Zhang J, Wang L, Guo HJ, Wang Y, Cao J, Chen BY.Treatment-emergent central sleep apnea: a unique sleep-disordered breathing.Chin Med J (Engl). 2020;133(22):2721-2730. doi:10.1097/CM9.0000000000001125SleepApnea.org.Does Insurance Cover CPAP?University of Michigan Health. Michigan Medicine.Surgical alternatives to CPAP.Anesthesia Patient Safety Foundation.Anesthesia safety always an issue with obstructive sleep apnea.American Academy of Sleep Medicine.FDA reclassifies positive airway pressure as a Class II medical device.
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.
National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke.Sleep apnea.Division of Sleep Medicine - Harvard Medical School.Understanding PAP.Dodds S, Williams LJ, Roguski A, et al.Mortality and morbidity in obstructive sleep apnoea-hypopnoea syndrome: results from a 30-year prospective cohort study.ERJ Open Res. 2020;6(3):00057-2020. doi:10.1183/23120541.00057-2020Johns Hopkins Medicine.What happens in a sleep study?SleepApnea.org.Apnea-Hypopnea Index (AHI).SleepApnea.org.What is a CPAP titration sleep study?Genta PR, Kaminska M, Edwards BA, et al.The importance of mask selection on continuous positive airway pressure outcomes for obstructive sleep apnea. An official American thoracic society workshop report.Annals ATS. 2020;17(10):1177-1185. doi: 10.1513/AnnalsATS.202007-864STSleepApnea.org.Aerophagia.Lorenzi-Filho G, Almeida FR, Strollo PJ.Treating OSA: Current and emerging therapies beyond CPAP.Respirology. 2017;22(8):1500-1507. doi:10.1111/resp.13144.Inspire.Welcome to being an Inspire therapy patient.Division of Sleep Medicine - Harvard Medical School.Nonsurgical treatments.Harvard Health Publishing - Harvard Medical School.Beyond CPAP: Other options for sleep apnea.Clebak KT, Demetriou TJ, Carey S.Positional therapy for obstructive sleep apnea.Am Fam Physician. 2020;101(1):16-17.Harvard Health Publishing - Harvard Medical School.I can’t tolerate CPAP, what can I do?Batool-Anwar S, Goodwin JL, Kushida CA, et al.Impact of continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) on quality of life in patients with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA).J Sleep Res. 2016;25(6):731-738. doi:10.1111/jsr.12430Zhang J, Wang L, Guo HJ, Wang Y, Cao J, Chen BY.Treatment-emergent central sleep apnea: a unique sleep-disordered breathing.Chin Med J (Engl). 2020;133(22):2721-2730. doi:10.1097/CM9.0000000000001125SleepApnea.org.Does Insurance Cover CPAP?University of Michigan Health. Michigan Medicine.Surgical alternatives to CPAP.Anesthesia Patient Safety Foundation.Anesthesia safety always an issue with obstructive sleep apnea.American Academy of Sleep Medicine.FDA reclassifies positive airway pressure as a Class II medical device.
National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke.Sleep apnea.
Division of Sleep Medicine - Harvard Medical School.Understanding PAP.
Dodds S, Williams LJ, Roguski A, et al.Mortality and morbidity in obstructive sleep apnoea-hypopnoea syndrome: results from a 30-year prospective cohort study.ERJ Open Res. 2020;6(3):00057-2020. doi:10.1183/23120541.00057-2020
Johns Hopkins Medicine.What happens in a sleep study?
SleepApnea.org.Apnea-Hypopnea Index (AHI).
SleepApnea.org.What is a CPAP titration sleep study?
Genta PR, Kaminska M, Edwards BA, et al.The importance of mask selection on continuous positive airway pressure outcomes for obstructive sleep apnea. An official American thoracic society workshop report.Annals ATS. 2020;17(10):1177-1185. doi: 10.1513/AnnalsATS.202007-864ST
SleepApnea.org.Aerophagia.
Lorenzi-Filho G, Almeida FR, Strollo PJ.Treating OSA: Current and emerging therapies beyond CPAP.Respirology. 2017;22(8):1500-1507. doi:10.1111/resp.13144.
Inspire.Welcome to being an Inspire therapy patient.
Division of Sleep Medicine - Harvard Medical School.Nonsurgical treatments.
Harvard Health Publishing - Harvard Medical School.Beyond CPAP: Other options for sleep apnea.
Clebak KT, Demetriou TJ, Carey S.Positional therapy for obstructive sleep apnea.Am Fam Physician. 2020;101(1):16-17.
Harvard Health Publishing - Harvard Medical School.I can’t tolerate CPAP, what can I do?
Batool-Anwar S, Goodwin JL, Kushida CA, et al.Impact of continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) on quality of life in patients with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA).J Sleep Res. 2016;25(6):731-738. doi:10.1111/jsr.12430
Zhang J, Wang L, Guo HJ, Wang Y, Cao J, Chen BY.Treatment-emergent central sleep apnea: a unique sleep-disordered breathing.Chin Med J (Engl). 2020;133(22):2721-2730. doi:10.1097/CM9.0000000000001125
SleepApnea.org.Does Insurance Cover CPAP?
University of Michigan Health. Michigan Medicine.Surgical alternatives to CPAP.
Anesthesia Patient Safety Foundation.Anesthesia safety always an issue with obstructive sleep apnea.
American Academy of Sleep Medicine.FDA reclassifies positive airway pressure as a Class II medical device.
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