After a busy day, nothing is more desirable than a good night’s sleep. Instead, nearly 18 million Americans suffer from some kind of sleep disorder, leaving them feeling continuously sluggish, distracted and irritable.
“Whether people have problems falling asleep, staying asleep, or feeling rested after sleeping through the night, sleep disorders can be debilitating,” said Jonathan E. Kass, M.D., Director of the Sleep Disorders Center at Cooper University Hospital. “Sleep disorders can cause serious medical and emotional problems, and increase the chance of accidents and injuries,” he said. Left untreated, sleep disorders can increase your risk for high blood pressure, heart attack, stroke, and other medical conditions.
Unfortunately, many sufferers don’t talk with their doctors about their sleep problems, unaware of the health-related issues that might be linked to them.
“The key to ending sleep problems is proper diagnosis,” Dr. Kass said. “There are many different kinds of sleep disorders and the goal is to diagnose and treat the problem in its early stages before more permanent effects occur, such as lung, heart or brain problems.”
At the Cooper Sleep Disorders Center, located in Voorhees, N.J., a team of trained medical and technical personnel provide comprehensive diagnosis and treatment of sleep problems in patients age 5 and up. The center is equipped with the latest developments in medical technology and specialized “home-like” sleep study rooms to further enhance patient evaluation. Each room is equipped to monitor and record sleeping and waking periods. These study rooms help doctors diagnose an array of sleep disorders, including nocturnal seizures, REM (rapid eye movement), behavior disorders and narcolepsy.
One of the more prevalent sleep problems associated with loud snoring is a disorder called sleep apnea. There are three types of sleep apnea: obstructive, central, and complex or mixed.
Obstructive sleep apnea occurs when the air passage in the upper respiratory tract narrows, blocking the flow of air during sleep. Central sleep apnea occurs when the brain does not send the signal to the muscles to take a breath. Mixed sleep apnea (MSA) is a combination of obstructive and central symptoms and is the most difficult form of sleep apnea to treat.
“Many patients with cardiac dysfunction who have MSA do not respond to the usual sleep apnea treatment, which is the CPAP (Continuous Positive Airway Pressure) ventilator,” said Dr. Kass.
Fortunately, a new ventilation machine, known as the Variable Positive Airway Pressure (VPAP), is shown to treat mixed sleep apnea in patients with cardiac dysfunction. Unlike the CPAP, the VPAP knows exactly how much air the person requires at different periods throughout the night.
“We are able to accomplish our goal of helping our patients improve the quality of their lives through the availability of the state-of-the-art equipment and processes,” Dr. Kass said. “Early diagnosis and proper treatment can help patients sleep well and stay healthy.”