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The SomnoDent Flex®, the mandibular advancement device (MAD) used in the study. Somno Med AU ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Obstructive sleep apnea can cause or contribute to high blood pressure, so a new study examined which sleep apnea treatments – a CPAP machine or a mouthguard that keeps the airways open – was more effective at lowering blood pressure. Medications are the first-line treatment for high blood pressure, otherwise known as hypertension. However, obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), which can cause and/or exacerbate hypertension, is being recognized as an underdiagnosed and modifiable risk factor. The most common sleep-rated breathing disorder, OSA is caused by...

People with hypertension and obstructive sleep apnea were no less likely to see their blood pressure drop over six months if they used a mandibular advancement device (MAD), which is inserted onto the teeth similar to a bite guard, compared to a continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) device, according to research. Obstructive sleep apnea can cause or worsen hypertension. Medical guidelines recommend the use of a CPAP machine to help keep airways open by delivering pressurized air through the mouth and nose. MADs help keep the airway open by repositioning the lower jaw. 321 people with uncontrolled hypertension and high...

Dutch health technology company Philips will not sell new devices to treat sleep apnea in the U.S. in the coming years as it works to comply with a settlement with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced on Monday. The agreement followed the recall of millions of breathing devices and ventilators used to treat sleep apnea in 2021 because of concerns that foam used to reduce noise from the devices could degrade and become toxic, carrying potential cancer risks. Philips said it had reached what is known as a consent decree that spells out the improvements it needs to make...

A long-term study of patients who had upper airway surgery has confirmed the benefits for better management of moderate to severe sleep apnea for people who failed to adapt or are not suited to continuous positive pressure airway (CPAP) therapy, say experts. Follow-up checks with 36 of the first 48 patients who had Sleep Apnea Multi-Level Surgery (SAMS)—which involves repositioning the palate along with minimally invasive tongue volume reduction to increase upper airway flow—found consistently positive improvement in their sleep apnea symptoms up to three years later, according to research. "The benefits include less disrupted sleep and daytime drowsiness, less...

Medically reviewed by Daniel Combs, MDSleep apnea is a common disorder that causes pausing during breathing while the afflicted person is asleep. This is often due to the upper airway collapsing, and it can lead to major medical problems. It is most often treated by continuous positive airway pressure, or CPAP, but this is not always tolerated. In fact, compliance is a major hurdle in treatment that sometimes cannot be overcome. One proposed alternative to CPAP is learning to play an aboriginal instrument called the didgeridoo. How might the circular breathing technique needed to play this instrument help to...

An Atlanta man says he was a foot from death. David Watkins describes waking up after a stray bullet almost hit him while he was asleep. His CPAP breathing machine was the only thing between the bullet and his head. "I have sleep apnea and that’s what saved my life," David Watkins said. That’s not a phrase often heard, but it could not be more true. Watkins provided photos which show where a stray bullet went through his room. "All of a sudden, my machine stopped working. I heard a loud noise. In my mind, I thought I rolled over...

President Joe Biden began using a CPAP machine "in recent weeks" to treat the sleep apnea he has suffered from since at least 2008, ABC News reported Wednesday. This new detail about Biden's health, revealed after observers noticed an unusual indentation on his face, suggests the octogenarian president has put himself at increased risk of dementia and cognitive decline. Biden has suffered from sleep apnea since at least 2008, when Politico reported that Biden "has suffered from atrial fibrillation, or an irregular heartbeat," which doctors said was probably "linked to Biden's reoccurring problem of sleep apnea." Dr. Joseph Krainin, M.D.,...

WASHINGTON — President Biden has been using a CPAP machine to treat sleep apnea, a potentially serious condition in which breathing can stop during sleep, the White House confirmed Wednesday. Administration officials acknowledged Biden’s condition and use of the device to Bloomberg News after journalists began asking for comment on strap lines visible on the president’s face while he gaggled with reporters on the White House lawn in the morning. Biden, 80, is the oldest-ever US president and is seeking a second term in next year’s election, despite concerns about his physical and mental fitness for office.

Politics Biden using CPAP machine to address sleep apnea By Gabrielle Ake, Ed O'Keefe June 28, 2023 / 3:00 PM / CBS News President Joe Biden has been using a device commonly used to address sleep apnea in recent weeks in order to improve his sleeping, the White House confirmed Wednesday. Emerging from the White House Wednesday before leaving for events in Chicago, reporters noticed indentations on the president's lower cheeks suggesting something may have been snugly strapped to his face and over his mouth. Bloomberg first reported the president has begun using a CPAP machine. CPAP is short for...

A study suggests that cholesterol-lowering drugs called statins have the potential to reduce heart disease in people with obstructive sleep apnea, regardless of the use of CPAP machines during the night. CPAP (continuous positive airway pressure) therapy improves sleep quality in people with obstructive sleep apnea. But CPAP does not improve heart health. Statins may be one such method, according to the study, by Sanja Jelic, MD. The researchers found that statins, but not CPAP, protected blood vessels against dangerous inflammatory changes that occur in people with the condition. The researchers looked specifically at the CD59 protein, which keeps inflammation...

Getting good sleep can play a role in supporting your heart and overall health—and maybe even how long you live—according to new research.. The study found that young people who have more beneficial sleep habits are incrementally less likely to die early. Moreover, the data suggest that about 8% of deaths from any cause could be attributed to poor sleep patterns. Participants were followed for a median of 4.3 years. Factors included: 1) ideal sleep duration of seven to eight hours a night; 2) difficulty falling asleep no more than two times a week; 3) trouble staying asleep no more...

(11:52 video) The youtuber know as "Essential Craftsman" was chronically exhausted and taking several naps per day. He also snored. Then he was diagnosed as having both central apnea and obstructive apnea, causing him to wake up 32 times per hour. He had very little REM sleep and experienced night terrors (waking in a panic). He spent years and $ thousands on treatment, including CPAP and BiPAP. He finally found success with a DIY treatment using sports tape (kinesiology tape) to tape his mouth shut at night. He cut small slits in the tape to allow a small amount of...

Effects of recall reverberate through sleep medicine communityMore than a year after the start of a recall now involving more than 5 million breathing devices, doctors and patients are still feeling the effects as manufacturer Philips continues to remediate machines and weathers scrutiny from federal agencies. The recall by subsidiary Philips Respironics has affected certain continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) and bilevel positive airway pressure (BiPAP) machines and mechanical ventilators mainly due to potential health risks from polyester-based polyurethane (PE-PUR) sound abatement foam that was used in the machines. Philips said at the time of the recall that the foam...

People who suffer from obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) are at an increased risk of cancer, according to a large study. A second study showed that OSA was linked to a decline in processing powers in the elderly. A third study found that patients with more severe OSA were at greater risk of developing blood clots in their veins. OSA is a common sleep disorder whereby people experience partial or complete obstruction of their airways during sleep and stop breathing several times a night. People who are overweight or obese, have diabetes, or who smoke or consume large amounts of alcohol...

About 6 months ago, I was diagnosed with severe sleep apena and am now on a machine. This has turned my life around as I'm now able to sleep much better at night. Just wanted to get some pros, cons, and thoughts from those of you who are too on a CPAP machine.

The following is a summary of some recent studies on Covid-19. They include research that warrants further study to corroborate the findings and that have yet to be certified by peer review. Severe sleep apnoea tied to severe Covid-19 The risk of severe illness from Covid-19 is higher in people with obstructive sleep apnoea and other breathing problems that cause oxygen levels to drop during sleep, researchers say. They tracked 5,402 adults with these problems and found that roughly a third of them eventually tested posted for the coronavirus. While the chance of being infected did not increase with the...

Obstructive sleep apnea, a form of sleep-disordered breathing, is common in children and adolescents and may be associated with elevated blood pressure and changes in heart structure. "The likelihood of children having disordered breathing during sleep and, in particular, obstructive sleep apnea, may be due to enlargement of the tonsils, adenoids or a child's facial structure, however, it is important for parents to recognize that obesity also puts kids at risk for obstructive sleep apnea," said Carissa M. Baker-Smith, M.D. "Sleep disruptions due to sleep apnea have the potential to raise blood pressure and are linked with insulin resistance and...

-Obstructive sleep apnea has become a worldwide health concern. -Sleep apnea has associations with an increased risk of sudden and cardiovascular-related deaths. -Future research should focus on decreasing and preventing this serious sleep condition. Obstructive sleep apnea has become a globally prevalent health concern. Recent literature estimates that more than 1 billion individuals experience this chronic sleep disorder. A study by Penn State College of Medicine in Hershey, which appears in BMJ Open Respiratory Research, found that those who receive a diagnosis of obstructive sleep apnea are at a significantly greater risk of dying suddenly than those who do not...

According to a report in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, a team led by Dr. Richard Schwab, the chief of sleep medicine at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, used MRI scans to look at how weight loss affected the upper airway. They say that lowering tongue fat is a primary factor to ease the severity of OSA. Though we already knew weight loss can improve symptoms, Schwab said research hasn’t looked at fat loss in the tongue. In 2014, Schwab conducted research that found patients with obesity and OSA had larger...

When someone is depressed and having suicidal thoughts or their depression treatment just isn't working, their caregivers might want to check to see if they have obstructive sleep apnea, investigators say. That's true even when these individuals don't seem to fit the usual profile of obstructive sleep apnea, which includes males who are overweight, snore and complain of daytime sleepiness, says Dr. W. Vaughn McCall, chair of the Department of Psychiatry and Health Behavior at the Medical College of Georgia at Augusta University. "No one is talking about evaluating for obstructive sleep apnea as a potential cause of treatment-resistant depression,...