The Pros And Cons Of Resmed CPAP Machine (CPP)

An effective solution with intrinsic challenges

Manufactured by ResMed, the AirSense device is a continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) machine used to treat sleep apnea. The CPAP, a device with a mask worn during sleep, is very (99 percent) effective at maintaining airflow and reducing or eliminating the interrupted breathing that is caused by sleep apnea.

Sleep apnea is associated with a number of cardiovascular problems, including high blood pressure, stroke, atrial fibrillation, and congestive heart failure. OSA is also linked to Type 2 diabetes and other metabolic disorders.

Exploring the Pros and Cons of the ResMed CPAP Machine

There are a few pros to the ResMed CPAP Machine to consider. It is extremely quiet, hardly making

There is an option to turn on supply reminders that appear on the display to keep you on schedule for equipment replacement. There is an automatic ramp function that is able to detect the regularity of breathing and turns itself up once it notes a transition toward a sleep-assocated pattern.

The biggest challenge to ResMed’s CPAP success in treating sleep apnea has been compliance with treatment — wearing the mask. Patients are often uncomfortable using the device, especially at the beginning of treatment, and this reluctance can lead to inconsistent use, or abandonment of the therapy altogether.

New research indicates that some OSA patients may have another treatment

During the two-year study period, researchers assessed the treatment progress of 103 patients with OSA. They used several standard measurements to track patients’ progress in treatment, including polysomnography and a self-reported sleepiness scale.

The severity of OSA is categorized by the frequency of episodes of interrupted breathing, as ranked on a scale known as the apnea-hypopnea index (AHI). For the purpose of this study, researchers defined “successful” treatment as a reduction of AHI to less than five episodes per hour, or a reduction of at least 50 percent from subjects’ initial AHI readings.

Their analysis found that oral appliance therapy is an effective alternative to CPAP for some sleep apnea patients:

For subjects with OSA ranging from mild to severe, researchers found similar levels of success in both CPAP and oral appliance therapy.

Both oral appliance therapy and CPAP resulted in significant improvements to patients sleep quality, as well as to their levels of daytime sleepiness. Both treatments also showed similar reductions to levels of depression and anxiety, conditions frequently reported by sleep apnea