#42 - Severe Sleep Apnea and Treatments: Quit Holdin' Out and Draw Another Breath

In Episode 5 of the podcast, we explored the confusing entity of mild/borderline sleep apnea and the treatment confusion it causes. In this episode we look at the other end of the sleep apnea spectrum...severe sleep apnea where the only confusion is, "Why didn't your primary care doctor order a sleep study sooner?" In this episode we will:

• Define sleep apnea and learn how the Apnea Hypopnea Index (AHI) helps us classify an individual's sleep apnea severity
• Briefly touch upon other metrics being considered to grade the severity of sleep apnea
• Look at sleep apnea through the lens of a recent patient who averaged 155.8 significant breathing disturbances/hour and understand what that means in terms of health and medical risk factors
• Examine the process by which one slowly develops sleep apnea and ask the question, "Why, in the midst of elevated weight, high blood pressure, and/or diabetes do more doctors not order home sleep studies to screen for sleep apnea when it is a modifiable risk factor with massive potential for health benefit?"
• Understand how the concept of CPAP therapy "working" or "not working" needs to be clearly defined as different therapy modalities are considered.
• Examine Inspire therapy, understand what it entails, who is eligible, and how there is much more to consider than their advertisements seem to indicate
• Compare sleep apnea therapies and their strengths/drawbacks

Note: I let an f-bomb slip in this episode…sorry to those offended by this.

Produced by: Maeve Winter

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Thanks for listening and sleep well!