Apnea Sufferers Can Aid Their Health with InnoMed/RespCare CPAP Masks.

COCONUT CREEK, Fla. -- According to recent studies reported on in the Los Angeles Times, continuous positive airway pressure, or CPAP, can prolong lives. Compliance is the number one problem and companies, such as InnoMed Technologies and RespCare. Inc., who's products entered an industry dominated by such companies as Resmed (NYSE:RMD) and Respironics (NYSE:PHG) have successfully addressed that issue by offering an alternative to the conventional masks and pillows on the market.

InnoMed Technologies represents the Nasal-Aire[R] family CPAP interfaces and RespCare, Inc. represents such innovative CPAP technologies as the Hybrid Universal Oral/Nasal Pillow interface and the Bravo Nasal pillow Interface.

The two studies, one of which was sponsored by National Institutes of Health's National Center on Sleep Disorders Research, demonstrated an increased risk of death among apparently healthy people who suffered from moderate to severe apnea. Studies found that sleep apnea, characterized by disruptions of breathing during the night, increases the risk of death four- to six fold. The condition affects as many as 12 million Americans.

In the past, studies have linked an increased risk of death with people who suffered from apnea and other health-related problems, such as obesity. According to the LA Times, "results from the studies 'remove any reasonable doubt that sleep apnea is a fatal disease,' said epidemiologist Nathaniel S. Marshall of the Woolcock Institute of Medical Research in Australia, lead author of one of the two papers published in the journal 'Sleep'."

Sleep apnea is a serious, potentially life-threatening condition that is far more common than generally understood. First described in 1965, sleep apnea is a breathing disorder characterized by brief interruptions of breathing during sleep. There are two types of sleep apnea: central and obstructive. Central sleep apnea, which is less common, occurs when the brain fails to send the appropriate signals to the breathing muscles to initiate respirations. Obstructive sleep apnea is far more common and occurs when air cannot flow into or out of the person's nose or mouth, although efforts to breathe continue.

In a given night, the number of involuntary breathing pauses may be as high as 20 to 60 or more per hour. These breathing pauses are almost always accompanied by snoring between apnea episodes, although not everyone who snores has this condition. Sleep apnea can also be characterized by choking sensations. The frequent interruptions of deep, restorative sleep often leads to excessive daytime sleepiness and may be associated with an early morning headache. The primary treatment of apnea is a technique called continuous positive airway pressure, or CPAP, in which pressurized air is administered through a mask.

InnoMed Technologies' range of technologically advanced Nasal-Aire[R] interfaces for positive air pressure therapy has helped patients who could not deal with a face mask become and stay compliant. The Nasal-Aire [R] II , which wears like an oxygen cannula, has remained the Gold Standard in alternative interfaces since it was introduced in 2002.

The Hybrid [R] Universal Interface (www.hybrid-mask.com) offers patients the comfort of nasal pillows, yet allows the patient to breathe through their mouth during the night without interrupting the nightly therapy. Many sleep centers prefer the Hybrid [R] when trying a patient on CPAP for the first time because most patients with sleep disorders are mouth breathers and cannot comfortably comply to nasal masks.

To learn more, visit http://www.innomedinc.com