Positive airway pressure (PAP) is a method of respiratory ventilation used primarily in the treatment of sleep apnea. CPAP means Continuous PAP. Bi-Level Positive Airway Pressure (BiPAP) machines are non-invasive machines that provide positive pressure while a person breathes in and lowers the air pressure when a person breathes out. The BiPAP machine is similar to a CPAP machine in that the machine runs quietly and is small enough to fit on a nightstand or small table.
Wheelchairs, Etc. offers a wide variety of CPAP and BiPAP Machines in the following brands (click on brand's name to visit their website!)
Resmed • Respironics • Fisher Paykel
Cardiovascular diseases, including stroke, are our nation's No. 1 killer. To urge Americans to join the battle against these diseases, since 1963 Congress has required the president to proclaim February "American Heart Month." I thought it may be worth looking at how Sleep Apnea and Cardiovascular disease are very closely related--even more reason to really put forth an effort to making your CPAP something you use every night! Please let us know if there is anything we can do to help with the adjustment to your equipment!
  • People with coronary artery disease whose blood oxygen is lowered by sleep disordered breathing may be at risk of ventricular arrhythmias and nocturnal sudden death. CPAP treatment may reduce this risk.
  • Sleep disordered breathing, including apnea, may cause coronary artery disease and hypertension. Some research suggests that apnea may indeed be a cause of heart disease. Congestive heart failure affects 2.5 million Americans, about 10% of the population.
  • 10 percent of men and 5 percent of women are estimated to have sleep apnea.
  • In obstructive sleep apnea, often marked by snoring, the right side of the heart may suffer damage because it has to pump harder to support the extra effort of the lungs trying to overcome the obstruction of the airway. When 42 patients with heart failure were tested in a sleep laboratory, almost half had severe apnea which had not been previously diagnosed.
  • Several obese patients with both obstructive sleep apnea and heart failure were treated with CPAP, the usual treatment for sleep apnea. Marked improvement was seen with increased energy and lessened fatigue, lower blood pressure, and a more positive outlook as a result of this treatment.
  • People who snore heavily and have pauses in breathing may be at risk for heart disease.
  • Central apnea may cause high blood pressure, surges of adreniline, and irregular heart beats. (Central apnea occurs without snoring and is not caused by obstruction, rather it is caused by the failure of the brain to signal for a breath)
  • Using CPAP can help keep your heart healthy and reduce your risk of heart-related injury!
A few more reasons to use your CPAP ...
  • If you don’t get enough sleep, your balance is often “thrown off”. People who have trouble getting to sleep, wake up at night, or are drowsy during the day are 2 to 4.5 times more likely to sustain a fall, found a 2007 study in the Journal of Gerontology.
  • Those who do not get enough sleep are more prone to depression. Adults who chronically operate on fumes report more mental distress, depression and alcohol use. This goes for adolescents and middle school children as well!
  • According to three large studies published in the journals Sleep and Archives of General Psychiatry, people over the age of 30 who slept 5 or less hours per night had approximately a 15% greater risk of dying-regardless of the cause-over the periods studied, which range from 6 to 14 years.
  • A 2003 study found that heart attacks were 45% more likely in women who slept for five or fewer hours per night than those who slept more.