All Posts By

Ayelette Raviv

Feb 03
Love0

The Impact of PAP Therapy on Cardiovascular Risk and Mortality

By Heart Health, Selected Articles, Sleep and Aging, Sleep Apnea, Treatment No Comments

Positive airway pressure (PAP) use is associated with lower all-cause mortality and lower incidence of major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE) among older adult patients with sleep apnea, according to recent findings published in JAMA Network Open.

This large retrospective cohort study evaluated mortality and health outcomes among 888,835 Medicare beneficiaries with obstructive sleep apnea over a median follow-up period of 3.1 years. The researchers found that initiating PAP therapy was associated with a significant reduction in the risk of both all-cause mortality and MACE, including heart attack, stroke, and heart failure.

These findings underscore the critical importance of early diagnosis and treatment of sleep apnea to improve long-term health outcomes.

Identifying Sleep Apnea

Sleep apnea often goes undiagnosed. Common symptoms include snoring, gasping or choking during sleep, morning headaches, and daytime sleepiness.

Risk factors for sleep apnea include high body mass index (BMI), obesity, older age, and certain anatomical features (e.g., enlarged tonsils, upper airway abnormalities). Use of tobacco, alcohol, and certain sedative and pain medications can worsen apnea severity.

Sleep apnea frequently co-occurs with other health conditions, including heart disease, stroke, hypertension, gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), hyperlipidemia, and type 2 diabetes.

Jun 18
Love0

FDA Clears Snap’s Next-Gen Wearable Home Sleep Test – Sleep Review

By Airflow, Sleep Apnea No Comments

Snap Diagnostics is pleased to announce that our next-generation sleep testing device has received FDA 510(k) clearance. The Sleep Apnea Monitor (SAM™) offers Snap’s full range of channels in the form factor of a wearable.

SAM will be available as part of our direct ship testing program starting this fall. Stay tuned!

Read the coverage in Sleep Review
Read the coverage in RT
Aug 01
Love0

New Study: Sleep Apnea and Lack of Deep Sleep Linked to Brain Abnormalities

By Brain Health, Sleep Apnea No Comments

Several studies have linked sleep apnea with neurodegenerative diseases, including Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias. A new study reveals important insights into how sleep apnea may impact the brain in older adults. The study, published in Neurology, found that individuals who have severe sleep apnea and spend less time in deep sleep have increased abnormalities in the white matter of the brain, which may contribute to cognitive decline and disease.

What to Look For:

The most common symptoms of sleep apnea include snoring, gasping, or choking during sleep, morning headaches, and daytime sleepiness. Risk factors associated with sleep apnea include high body mass index (BMI), obesity, older age (>40 years old), and certain anatomical features such as enlarged tonsils or upper airway abnormalities. Use of tobacco, alcohol, and certain sedative and pain medications may increase apnea severity.

Sleep apnea is a common comorbidity in patients with heart disease, stroke, high blood pressure, GI reflux disease, high cholesterol, and type II diabetes.

May 01
Love0

New Study: The Association Between Sleep Apnea and Long Covid

By Sleep Apnea

Previously, a significant association between obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) and severe COVID-19 acute infection was established. New research suggests that OSA may also impact recovery and health beyond acute infection.

A recent study supported by the National Institutes of Health found that among people who have had COVID-19, adults with obstructive sleep apnea are more likely to experience long-term symptoms suggestive of long COVID than those without OSA, based on the electronic health record data of more than 2.2 million Americans with COVID-19.

Identifying Sleep Apnea:

Sleep apnea often goes undiagnosed. Common symptoms include snoring, gasping or choking during sleep, morning headaches, and daytime sleepiness.

Risk factors for sleep apnea include high body mass index (BMI), obesity, older age, and certain anatomical features (e.g., enlarged tonsils, upper airway abnormalities). Use of tobacco, alcohol, and certain sedative and pain medications can worsen apnea severity.

Sleep apnea frequently co-occurs with other health conditions, including heart disease, stroke, hypertension, gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), hyperlipidemia, and type 2 diabetes.

Nov 08
Love0

Home Sleep Testing: Recent Study Confirms the Importance of Direct Airflow Measurement

By Airflow, Sleep Apnea

When measuring sleep respiratory events, the ‘gold standard’ is direct airflow measurement. Without it, a sleep test relies on indirect markers, such as peripheral arterial tonometry (PAT) signals and blood oxygen saturation. These indirect markers will not detect apnea events too short to cause significant desaturation, nor will they accurately differentiate between apnea and hypopnea.

Comorbid conditions complicate and limit indirect diagnostic methods

Sleep apnea patients are reported to have high rates of comorbid conditions, which can complicate or limit the effectiveness of indirect diagnostic methods.

A peer-reviewed study published in the Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine evaluated PAT systems in a large point-of-care cohort, including patients with atrial fibrillation, congestive heart failure, asthma, COPD, and patients receiving pharmacologic therapies. The findings suggest that conditions and therapies which affect normal blood circulation, sympathetic tone, or oxygen saturation often compromise the accuracy of PAT-derived results. In particular, the study concluded, “the PAT-based testing presented high rates of diagnostic misclassification of sleep disordered breathing presence or severity.”

A second study published on June 1, 2022 in the Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine confirmed significant discordance between PAT-based testing and in-lab polysomnography (PSG) among active-duty military personnel. The authors concluded, “PAT-based HSAT may have limited utility for diagnosing OSA and grading severity in this unique patient population.”

Snap Diagnostics’ approach

Snap Diagnostics’ home sleep test is unique in that it integrates the direct, ‘gold standard’ technology and analysis used in traditional laboratory-based sleep tests. It also makes testing more accessible and affordable. As a result, there are no medical conditions or therapies that preclude Snap testing.

To learn more about the published studies supporting this post, please reach out to your local Snap Manager or contact us.

Sep 28
Love0

New study finds that setting the optimal pressure for PAP can (and probably should) be done WITHOUT IN-LAB TITRATION

By Sleep Apnea, Treatment

A recent study published in the Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine compared manually and automatically derived therapeutic positive airway pressure (PAP) to determine whether the two methods are equivalent. The findings suggest that in-lab manual titrations overestimate therapeutic pressure requirements, particularly in patients with higher BMI. Study participants were adequately treated with lower pressures using auto-titrating positive airway pressure (APAP) while yielding comparable reductions in AHI to those observed during manual titration studies.

The authors reported, “Our findings suggest that, in most cases, split-night or full-night polysomnograms are not necessary to initiate PAP therapy for patients with uncomplicated OSA.”

They added, “Typically, acceptable titration studies generate the highest pressure required to eliminate all obstructive respiratory events, including snoring. This [highest] pressure is not necessarily needed throughout a single night or on a night-to-night basis due to several factors, including sleep position, sleep stage, alcohol use, medications, and exercise.”

For patients receiving PAP therapy, finding the right pressure settings can make a world of difference. Higher than necessary positive airway pressure may cause dry airways and significant discomfort. This is one of the major contributors toward PAP nonadherence in patients with obstructive sleep apnea.

Accordingly, Snap Diagnostics’ home sleep apnea test report includes a prediction for an optimal level of positive airway pressure, using a clinically validated equation. This prediction can be used to optimize and/or shorten the time it takes to achieve optimal pressure settings.

The new findings further strengthen the case for home sleep apnea testing and treatment. As the COVID-19 pandemic has reduced the capacity of overnight sleep centers, providers are shifting away from attended manual PAP titration towards auto-titrating positive airway pressure, particularly for patients with uncomplicated obstructive sleep apnea.

To learn more about the published studies supporting this post, please reach out to your local Snap Manager or contact us.

[1]     Fashanu OS, Budhiraja R, Batool-Anwar S, Quan SF. Titration studies overestimate continuous positive airway pressure requirements in uncomplicated obstructive sleep apnea. J Clin Sleep Med. 2021 May 3. doi: 10.5664/jcsm.9316. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 34165075.
[2]     Miljeteig H, Hoffstein V. Determinants of continuous positive airway pressure level for treatment of obstructive sleep apnea. Am Rev Respir Dis. 1993 Jun;147(6 Pt 1):1526-30. doi: 10.1164/ajrccm/147.6_Pt_1.1526. PMID: 8503565.

May 14
Love1

Study Suggests Parents Should Take Kids’ Snoring Seriously – Sleep Review

By Brain Health, Children and Adolescence, Sleep Apnea, Snoring

A large study published in Nature Communications found a link between snoring and structural brain changes in children, as well as problem behaviors such as inattention, hyperactivity and aggression.

Researchers looked at data from MRI brain images of over 10,000 children aged 9 to 10 years in the United States. In addition, they collected data from those children’s parents on how often their kids snore and parent responses to standard behavior measures.

The researchers found a correlation between habitual snoring (three or more nights per week) and thinner gray matter in several areas of the brain, particularly in regions within the frontal lobe which help manage attention, reasoning and impulse control.

This adds to the body of knowledge that snoring is a key component of obstructive sleep disordered breathing, and a predictor of associated behavioral issues in children.

Read the full article in Sleep Review
Sep 09
Love0

Home Sleep Tests May Fill a Gap in Care for Stroke Patients, Study Finds – Sleep Review

By Brain Health, Heart Health, Sleep Apnea

Research suggests that treating sleep apnea after a stroke or a mini-stroke can significantly improve recovery and clinical outcome. Sleep Review presents a study abstract published for the American Academy of Neurology (AAN) on how home sleep testing can be used to better serve stroke patients.

Update: We originally wrote about the study abstract. The study has since been published by the American Heart Association (AHA) in Stroke.

Read the full article in Stroke
Read the full article in Sleep Review
Nov 21
Love0

Science underestimated dangerous effects of sleep deprivation – Science Daily

By Brain Health, Sleep Science, Workplace Productivity and Safety No Comments

Researchers at Michigan State University conducted a large study to explore the impact of sleep deprivation on higher-order cognitive processes.   

Previous research has shown how sleep deprivation can impair a person’s ability to follow a procedure and maintain attention. The new study, published in the Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, is the first of its kind to assess how sleep deprivation impacts ‘placekeeping’ – or, the ‘ability to complete a series of steps without losing one’s place, despite potential interruptions.’ 

The study found that when sleep deprived, participants were twice as likely to make placekeeping errors, and showed three times as many lapses in attention.

Read the full news release in Science Daily