Sleep Apnea is one of the most overlooked ailments among Americans. Sleep apnea is a serious sleep disorder that occurs when a person's breathing is interrupted during sleep. People with untreated sleep apnea stop breathing repeatedly during their sleep, sometimes hundreds of times. This means the brain -- and the rest of the body -- may not get enough oxygen.
There are two types of sleep apnea:
- Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA): The more common of the two forms of apnea, it is caused by a blockage of the airway, usually when the soft tissue in the back of the throat collapses during sleep.
- Central sleep apnea: Unlike OSA, the airway is not blocked, but the brain fails to signal the muscles to breathe, due to instability in the respiratory control center.
If left untreated, sleep apnea can result in a growing number of health problems, including: High blood pressure, stroke. heart failure, irregular heartbeats, and heart attacks.
It is estimated that somewhere between 40 to 60 Million Americans suffer from sleep apnea and approximately 75% of them, or 30 -45 Million Americans, are not even aware that they have it. In large part, people fail to get tested because of the perceived notion that it requires an extended stay at a facility which is time consuming and inconvenient. This is a common misconception because all that is really required is a device be sent to your home that includes a mask that one wears for one evening of sleep. Once diagnosed, one can properly get the assistance they need to regain their proper allocation of sleep.
Currently, most people diagnosed with sleep apnea are treated with a CPAP (continuous positive air pressure) device that has a large footprint and is cumbersome. They are also quite impractical for travel and impractical for use on airplanes.
Until now! Thanks to ResMed, a CPAP manufacturer based in San Diego, a new miniaturized CPAP is now available. It is the World’s smallest CPAP Device that is 5.4”x3.3”x2” weighing a mere 300 grams. For comparison, that is just between the weight of an iPhone 7 Plus and an iPad. The device also has waterless humidification.
On May 2nd, ResMed formally launched the AirMini at Hills Penthouse in West Hollywood, California. The event was covered by the press and streamed on Facebook Live. Jim Hollingshead - President, Americas at ResMed along with Dr. Mehmet Oz, a partner in this venture were in attendance and fielded questions from the audience as well as from the online audience.
AirMini is available now and will be shipping as of May 31 within the US and to Australia, Canada, Denmark, Finland, Spain, Germany, New Zealand and the UK. It will also be available to other countries soon thereafter. For further information visit: www.airmini.resmed.com.