CPAP Miracles: What You May Not Know About Positive Airway Pressure Therapy

CPAP Miracles - What You May Not Know About CPAP

By Admin

Most people associate CPAP therapy with Sleep Apnea, but on top of the treatment of apneas and hypopneas are the many additional benefits that positive airway pressure therapy delivers, night after night, when used regularly. Regular CPAP use can have positive effects on everything from weight control and diabetes to heart disease, high blood pressure, depression, fatigue, and numerous other physical and mental health problems, ultimately leading to a higher quality of life. As new research provides further incentives for positive airway pressure therapy in the lives of millions, the advancement of CPAP technologies is making the devices more comfortable, more compact, and less obtrusive.

Current Research

Developed in the early 1980s, continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) quickly became the treatment of choice for obstructive and central sleep apnea disorders. But aside from treating sleep apnea and hypopnea events, the therapy has been proven to have a number of additional positive health effects both in short-term and long-term use. One study performed by the National Sleep Foundation discovered that a majority of people who use CPAP find “immediate symptom relief” in addition to “increased energy and mental sharpness” during the day (NSF). These patients often describe the therapy as a life-changing decision, not only allowing them to sleep and breathe easier, but improving their entire outlook on life. On the other hand, there are patients who find CPAP masks uncomfortable and may discontinue therapy as a result. The challenge for doctors and sleep specialists has been to encourage patient compliance long enough for the many benefits to manifest. While CPAP may not be for everyone, the number of patients adopting the therapy is on the rise, and promising results from countless new studies have been largely responsible for this upsurge in popularity.

Respiratory Health and Smoking

The most obvious and immediate benefits of CPAP therapy involve breathing. The apnea/hypopnea events that CPAP machines relieve are often the main objective of the therapy, but for some patients, this is only the beginning. A report in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine has found that not only does long-term CPAP use reduce the severity of target disease symptoms, but continued use is directly related to evening habits such as smoking. In those cases where smokers are able to quit, CPAP use has improved respiratory health and in some cases even reversed some of the respiratory damage from smoking. It should be noted that the rate of OSA among cigarette smokers is three times the rate of non-smokers. It has been generally hypothesized that smoking and OSA both adversely affect one another, leading to increased rates of what is termed “comorbidity,” the resulting death rates of multiple conditions or behaviors. The flipside to this relationship between smoking and problems with both sleeping and breathing is that CPAP therapy can help on several fronts at once. This is likely no surprise to those in work in addiction treatment, as CPAP actually covers three of the “Four D’s” of craving management for addictions. While you cannot drink water or healthy drinks while using CPAP, it is however a “Delay,” a “Distraction,” and a form of “Deep Breathing.” The change in routine from CPAP therapy aids in the quitting process, giving patients a new, healthy behavior to replace the addiction.

Emergency Use

Tyler McG, an Emergency Medical Technician in New England, is not the only medical responder who has seen CPAP machines work miracles, but his report on a sleep apnea advice blogb has attracted attention from patients and professionals alike. Since Emergency Medical Teams began to include CPAP devices in their response vehicles, they have been able to use them on patients with a range of issues causing difficulty breathing; from congestive heart failure to emphysema to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. “I have had patients with extreme difficulty breathing,” Tyler writes, “and low oxygen saturation levels, and in a short period of time the CPAP system has provided them with lifesaving relief.” In addition to positive pressure, emergency responders can nebulize drugs using CPAP therapy, a very useful alternative when there are problems with intravenous injection. According to Tyler, “CPAP therapy has saved countless lives and it is an extremely valuable asset to emergency personnel.”

Heart and Cardiovascular Health

According to new research, CPAP therapy substantially decreases risk of heart failure, especially among those over 60 years of age. The study, published last year in the Journal of the American Heart Association, identifies the relationship between heart failure and sleep apnea. While previous studies have observed links between sleep apnea and heart attacks, this study in particular used exhaustive evidence from over 4.9 million people to focus on causation factors between sleep apnea and heart failure.

Blood Pressure and Hypertension

Sleep apnea is linked with high blood pressure and hypertension, which are also risk factors for heart disease. The sudden drops in blood oxygen levels that occur during sleep apnea events increases blood pressure and strains the cardiovascular system. When CPAP is applied, the stabilized breathing leads almost immediately to reduced pressure. But left untreated, apnea conditions can potentially increase risk of heart attacks, stroke, and abnormal heartbeats such as atrial fibrillation or afib. Over time, this can potentially lead to irreversible or even fatal damage to the heart, arteries, brain and kidneys.

Diabetes and Prediabetes

As mentioned above, heart health is directly related to sleep health. Consequently if you have diabetes or prediabetes in addition to sleep apnea, CPAP therapy may help you not only sleep better but have improved heart health and a more balanced metabolism. In a study by the American Thoracic Society (ATS), researchers evaluated how well CPAP therapy helped to reduce the resting heart rates of participants. Those with high resting heart rates, a condition linked with both heart disease and type-II diabetes, saw reductions as early as the first week of treatment. The author of the study, Dr. Sushmita Pamidi, the Assistant Professor of Medicine at McGill University in Montreal, Canada, underscored the importance of compliance in CPAP effectiveness. "We found that all night CPAP treatment for sleep apnea improves the 24-hour resting heart rate in patients with prediabetes,” she said (Endocrineweb).

Stroke Prevention and Recovery

Sleep apnea is a known risk factor for stroke, and new research suggests that curbing the condition might also aid the recovery of people who have already suffered from a stroke. Dr. Dawn Bravada, the Study Lead for the Sleep Research Society explains that, among stroke patients, "treatment of sleep apnea with CPAP therapy provides significant benefits, even greater than the benefits of tPA, the FDA-approved drug treatment for stroke” (Health 24). According to Dr. Bravada, “59% of patients who received CPAP therapy showed marked improvement in their recovery,” as compared to 38% who didn't receive the CPAP therapy (ibid.). This, like the heart health study cited above, is a marked progression in the science of stroke treatment directly related to airway pressure therapy.

Cancer and Mortality

Although many studies have confirmed that there is a clear connection between OSA and the growth and metastasis of certain cancers, such studies have mostly appeared in recent years, focusing primarily on the relationship between hypoxia (the oxygen insufficiencies in the body caused by factors such as obstructive apneas) and its resulting effects on existing cancers. One study even reported that after treating patients with severe OSA symptoms for only 30 days with CPAP, there was also “a general downregulation of multiple tumor-associated genes” (Sleep Breath). Thus, CPAP treatments used for conditions such as OSA may have a simultaneous effect on both the development of cancer and for aggressive cancer behavior, including mortality.

Energy and Libido

While reduced daytime sleepiness and fatigue is to be expected from CPAP therapy, many patients report significantly higher levels of energy and libido after beginning treatment. Though there may not yet be definitive explanations for why CPAP therapy can have these additional positive effects, some researchers believe that CPAP may reduce inflammation, which in turn reduces fatigue. Other theories focus more on the holistic view of systems in balance. CPAP frees the breath from obstruction and sedates the heart, both of which are fundamental mechanisms of our biological lives. There is a reason why practices of meditation begin with breathing exercises, and CPAP, for those who become accustomed to its effects, is not unlike a form of meditation itself, though rather than requiring patients to control their breathing, the CPAP machine automates it.

Quality of Life

In their own words, CPAP users repeatedly describe how CPAP has improved their lives. “I stopped falling asleep at work.” “I sleep better, I have more energy throughout the day, I travel with it.” “It’s my life support.” They report sharp reductions in headaches, nightmares, choking or coughing, and finally, an end to snoring. Relationships are improved as CPAP therapy leaves the user refreshed after full nights of deep, high-quality sleep. Even common colds and flus are reduced as the body’s immune system begins to reap the benefits of healthy respiration and a stable heart. Like any change to daily routines, the initial adjustment to a CPAP device can take some getting used to. However, with a list of uses and benefits getting longer by the day, it’s also getting easier to keep patients adhering to treatment. With life-changing goals in mind, a majority of new CPAP users are finding the temporary discomfort of a sleep device as a tolerable trade-off for the many potential benefits to come.