Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is the most common type of sleep apnea, and sleep apnea affects nearly one billion people around the globe. Unfortunately, many people go undiagnosed because they are either unaware that they might have sleep apnea or it is too difficult to get a referral to a sleep specialist. The Insomnia and Sleep Institute of Arizona sets the standard for sleep medicine in Arizona. Your first consultation is with a sleep expert capable of diagnosing sleep disorders, which often begins with testing in an overnight lab for suspected sleep apnea cases.
The most common signs of sleep apnea include snoring and/or waking up gasping for air while asleep. Many people do not know that they snore and may not remember briefly waking up because they couldn’t breathe. It is often a bedmate that notices these signs. However, for those who often sleep alone, the signs of OSA might be elusive. There are many other signs such as feeling tired during the day even though you think you got enough sleep, but this is often a non-specific symptom that can be caused by many reasons.
Those who are obese, and particularly those who carry excess weight in the neck, are at an increased risk of OSA. When this is the primary trigger, losing weight can be an effective tool in OSA management (or even stopping OSA entirely). Still, in the interim, it is important to have a solid OSA management plan in place. This begins with CPAP therapy, the standard front line treatment. Today’s CPAP machines and accessories are easy to use and travel-friendly. However, what happens in the rare instance that CPAP isn’t effective? That’s where Inspire implants can help.
Inspired to Stop OSA
The Inspire implant is a small implant that is surgically placed in the chest. You turn it on before going to sleep and it forces the air passageways to remain open (which otherwise temporarily collapse during sleep for those with OSA). But just how effective are these implants? They performed phenomenally well in trials, and now a recent Penn case study shows that they work just as well in “real life.”
A study from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania found that the outcomes of Inspire patients mimic those in clinical trials. The device is a kind of pacemaker equipped with a small generator and sensing lead. However, instead of electrical pulses that control heart rate, it has two wires that stimulate the tongue. A remote control is used before sleep and upon waking to control the off/on function. There is a delay that lets patients fall asleep before the pulsing begins. Once Inspire has identified the breathing pattern for sleep, it stimulates the nerve that controls the tongue (hypoglossal nerve), which in turn enlarges the upper airway.
Getting Quality Sleep
The study found that in 20 implants that were placed at the university, all of the patients were middle aged, had severe OSA, and were obese. They underwent a baseline polysomnography before the implant as well as two months after placement. It was found that the total apnea-hypopnea index (AHI) “significantly decreased” by an average of 35 events per hour following the placement of the implant. This equates to an average reduction of 84 percent in sleep apnea events. The lowest oxygen level measured during sleep also “significantly increased” by eleven percent, totaling 90 percent instead of the previous average of 79 percent. These results are very similar to various clinical studies and trials.
According to the lead author,
Considering that sleep apnea can lead to high blood pressure, heart attacks, strokes, and other serious health problems, it is critically important that we study devices that may serve as another option instead of CPAP to treat patients with sleep apnea. There is no perfect treatment option for obstructive sleep apnea, but our preliminary data suggest that hypoglossal nerve stimulation can effectively treat patients with sleep apnea who are unable to tolerate CPAP.
If you have sleep apnea but have found that CPAP doesn’t work for you, you might be a good candidate for the Inspire implant. You may get approved in our clinic and we work with a local outpatient surgeon for the implant surgery. You then return to our clinic to “set up” the Inspire implant. To find out more or schedule a consultation, contact The Insomnia and Sleep Institute by calling the clinic or completing the online contact form now.
