RALEIGH COUNTY, WV (WOAY) – Seventy million Americans suffer from chronic sleep problems negatively affecting health and longevity.
Apnea, one of those disorders, is characterized by repeated breathing lapses during sleep.
So, Beckley ARH has started to perform Inspire therapy, a minimally invasive procedure to treat obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) for those patients unable to tolerate CPAP.
Inspire was FDA-approved in 2014 but has started gaining ground and access.
“We are only the third hospital in West Virginia that will be offering this procedure to patients,” said ENT physician Dr. Justin Douglas. “And the only one in Southern West Virginia. So, we’re real excited about that.”
“Those people have had no good options,” ENT Surgeon Dr. David Blaine said. “So right now, this is a revolutionary procedure offering good options for those patients who have not been treated.”
CPAP for OSA uses a machine to deliver constant pressure through a face mask that opens one’s airway so they don’t obstruct.
“You get a better night’s rest. It decreases their health risks: premature cardiac death, atrial fibrillation, and cardiac arrhythmias,” said Douglas. “But also makes them feel better throughout the day. It’s still considered the gold standard of treatment for sleep apnea; the problem is not everybody can tolerate it.”
According to the ENT physician, this new Inspire system alleviates the need to wear that particular face mask or device.
Blaine empathizes with sleep apnea patients’ struggles. The doctor says it’s not always related to weight or obesity.
“Sometimes related to the structure of the jaw, the tongue, the neck and the mouth. Even those of normal weight can still have significant apnea,” the ENT surgeon said. “Besides the CPAP, (options included) weight loss and other treatments like oral or dental appliances that help move the jaw forward but don’t work well and are not well-tolerated. So this is a big change.”
Often, folks learn to live with debilitating daytime fatigue and Blaine says they’re not digging deeper into the possibility of sleep disorder breathing.
“I think there’s a lot of undiagnosed people, and once they start hearing about the Inspire (implantable) device — a great alternative to CPAP — that people will be looking to their family doctor to get sleep evaluation for their snoring or other issues related to their energy level and fatigue,” the doctor said.
