Sleep apnea -- disrupted breathing while sleeping –- affects more than 12 million Americans, according to the National Institutes of Health.
The consequences of the disease are becoming more and more apparent, with links to heart disease, cancer, strokes and diabetes. But patients with apnea face a huge issue: 50 percent of them abandon the main form of treatment within three months of starting it.
The continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) machine is the first line of therapy for apnea patients, but it has serious downsides. In most cases, it’s a mask users wear over their mouth and nose. It has historically been loud and invasive, forcing patients into certain sleep positions. The air flow can be cold and feel dehydrating too, and it causes claustrophobia for some.
The consequences of the disease are becoming more and more apparent, with links to heart disease, cancer, strokes and diabetes. But patients with apnea face a huge issue: 50 percent of them abandon the main form of treatment within three months of starting it.
The continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) machine is the first line of therapy for apnea patients, but it has serious downsides. In most cases, it’s a mask users wear over their mouth and nose. It has historically been loud and invasive, forcing patients into certain sleep positions. The air flow can be cold and feel dehydrating too, and it causes claustrophobia for some.
For Jonathan Williams, 61, his inability to use the CPAP machine wasn’t even conscious.
"I would just rip it off, within 5 minutes of me falling asleep,” he said.
His apnea worsened. He suffered night terrors when his breathing became obstructed, extreme exhaustion during the day from repeated wake-ups, drowsiness while driving and his blood pressure spiked. Finally doctors performed surgery on him, altering the anatomy of his epiglottis and opening his nasal passageway. They then prescribed a mouthpiece to help support his jaw and keep his airway open. Jonathan says he still wakes up two or three times per night, but, for the first time in 20 years he’s waking up refreshed.
“I really started to get some really noticeable relief,” he said.
Andrew Wellman, assistant professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School and director of the Sleep Disordered Breathing Laboratory at Brigham and Women's Hospital, says this personalization and combining of therapies is innovative.
Andrew Wellman, assistant professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School and director of the Sleep Disordered Breathing Laboratory at Brigham and Women's Hospital, says this personalization and combining of therapies is innovative.
Treatment Alternatives to Give Relief to Sleep Apnea Sufferers was published first in http://abcnews.go.com
