Beginning in March, CPAPSupplyUSA.com and the Midlothian, VA-based CPAP provider, Manor Respiratory Care of Virginia will be hosting A.W.A.K.E Support Group meetings for CPAP users and Sleep Apnea sufferers in Central Virginia. A.W.A.K.E. is a network of support forums across the United States that is currently maintained and guided by the American Sleep Apnea Association, a nationwide non-profit organization dedicated to educating the public about sleep apnea and to serving people with this common disorder. The Central Virginia A.W.A.K.E group is organized by our wonderful on-staff sleep expert and licensed Respiratory Therapist, Debbie Shirley.

To participate in the Central Virginia A.W.A.K.E Support Group, please visit us on March 5, 2009 from 6-8pm at one of three Richmond vicinity locations:

Ukrop's Store across from Chesterfield Towne Center on Midlothian Turnpike

Ukrop's Store at 4346 South Laburnum Road in Richmond

Ukrop's Store at John Rolfe and Ridgefield

Not in our area? To locate an A.W.A.K.E. Support Group in your local area, visit the ASAA website

CPAPSupplyUSA.com celebrates American Heart Month this February! As we all know, untreated Obstructive Sleep Apnea can have a very detrimental effect on one's heart. Left untreated, sleep apnea can cause enlargening of the heart, high blood pressure, and weakening of the heart muscle. During periods of apnea, the heart works overtime to provide oxygen to the parts of the body that are being deprived. Over time, as the heart works harder and harder each night, damage can be seen to the muscle.

The Mayo Clinic sums up the connection between heart disease and Obstructive Sleep Apnea very well in their article "Sleep Apnea: Can it cause heart disease?":

"When your oxygen level drops, your carbon dioxide level increases. Your brain senses trouble and tells your body to release adrenaline-like substances into the bloodstream — the so-called fight-or-flight reflex — which increases blood pressure, thus the link to sleep apnea and high blood pressure.

Because of low oxygen, your body also releases other substances that can eventually damage the lining of your body's blood vessels, and it's this damage that might eventually cause or worsen high blood pressure and other forms of cardiovascular disease or heart problems. These include:

• High blood pressure. Sudden drops in blood-oxygen levels that occur during sleep apnea increase blood pressure and strain the cardiovascular system. About half the people with sleep apnea develop high blood pressure (hypertension). "The only thing we can say for certain right now is sleep apnea increases your risk of high blood pressure," Dr. Somers says. While high blood pressure itself increases the risk of various forms of heart disease, there's speculation that sleep apnea also plays a more direct role in heart disease.
• Heart failure. Sleep apnea may increase the risk of heart failure because of the swings in blood pressure that occur during sleep apnea. This, combined with reductions in oxygen to heart tissue, might damage heart muscle. If you already have heart failure, this repeated stress to the heart might make things worse.
• Heart rhythm problems (arrhythmias). Arrhythmias occur when the electrical impulses in your heart that coordinate your heartbeats don't function properly, causing your heart to beat too fast, too slow or irregularly. One of the more common types of arrhythmias thought to be associated with sleep apnea is atrial fibrillation. This occurs when the heart's two upper chambers (the atria) beat chaotically and irregularly — out of coordination with the two lower chambers (the ventricles) of the heart. It's unclear how sleep apnea might increase the risk of arrhythmias, but the increase in blood pressure may play a big role.
• Coronary artery disease. Coronary artery disease is caused by the gradual buildup of fatty deposits in your coronary arteries (atherosclerosis). As the deposits (plaques) slowly narrow your coronary arteries, your heart muscle receives less blood. Eventually, diminished blood flow may cause chest pain (angina), shortness of breath or other symptoms. A complete blockage can cause a heart attack. Sleep apnea may increase your risk of coronary artery disease because of the swings in blood pressure that occur during sleep apnea. This, combined with dips in oxygen levels in your blood, might make your blood vessels more susceptible to damage.
• Stroke. A stroke occurs when the blood supply to a part of your brain is interrupted or severely reduced, depriving brain tissue of oxygen and nutrients. Within a few minutes, brain cells begin to die. It's thought that damage and stress to your blood vessels, possibly caused by blood pressure and oxygen changes from sleep apnea, might make you more prone to a stroke."

Information provided by the American Heart Association can help you recoginize the warning signs of a heart attack in their "Heart Attack, Stroke and Cardiac Arrest Warning Signs" article:

"Statistics 
Coronary heart disease is the No. 1 cause of death in the United States. Stroke is the No. 3 cause of death in the United States and a leading cause of serious disability. That's why it's so important to reduce your risk factors, know the warning signs, and know how to respond quickly and properly if warning signs occur.

Heart Attack Warning Signs
Some heart attacks are sudden and intense — the "movie heart attack," where no one doubts what's happening. But most heart attacks start slowly, with mild pain or discomfort. Often people affected aren't sure what's wrong and wait too long before getting help. Here are signs that can mean a heart attack is happening:

• Chest discomfort. Most heart attacks involve discomfort in the center of the chest that lasts more than a few minutes, or that goes away and comes back. It can feel like uncomfortable pressure, squeezing, fullness or pain.   
• Discomfort in other areas of the upper body. Symptoms can include pain or discomfort in one or both arms, the back, neck, jaw or stomach.   
• Shortness of breath with or without chest discomfort.  
• Other signs may include breaking out in a cold sweat, nausea or lightheadedness       

As with men, women's most common heart attack symptom is chest pain or discomfort. But women are somewhat more likely than men to experience some of the other common symptoms, particularly shortness of breath, nausea/vomiting, and back or jaw pain.

Learn the signs, but remember this: Even if you're not sure it's a heart attack, have it checked out (tell a doctor about your symptoms). Minutes matter! Fast action can save lives — maybe your own. Don’t wait more than five minutes to call 9-1-1.

Calling 9-1-1 is almost always the fastest way to get lifesaving treatment. Emergency medical services (EMS) staff can begin treatment when they arrive — up to an hour sooner than if someone gets to the hospital by car. EMS staff are also trained to revive someone whose heart has stopped. Patients with chest pain who arrive by ambulance usually receive faster treatment at the hospital, too. It is best to call EMS for rapid transport to the emergency room.

If you can't access the emergency medical services (EMS), have someone drive you to the hospital right away. If you're the one having symptoms, don't drive yourself, unless you have absolutely no other option." 

Today, on World Diabetes Day, we at CPAP Supply USA promote awareness for a increasingly common chronic condition in both children, adolescents and adults. It is currently thought that approximately 40% of individuals with Obstructive Sleep Apnea also have some form of diabetes, and new studies have shown a link between treating Obstructive Sleep Apnea and the improvement of diabetes. From the World Diabetes Day website, a little information on this day's current purpose and inception:

"World Diabetes Day (WDD) is the primary global awareness campaign of the diabetes world. It was introduced in 1991 by the International Diabetes Federation (IDF) and the World Health Organization (WHO) in response to the alarming rise in diabetes around the world. In 2007, the United Nations marked the Day for the first time with the passage of the United Nations World Diabetes Day Resolution in December 2006, which made the existing World Diabetes Day an official United Nations World Health Day.

World Diabetes Day is a campaign that features a new theme chosen by the International Diabetes Federation each year to address issues facing the global diabetes community. While the themed campaigns last the whole year, the day itself is celebrated on November 14, to mark the birthday of Frederick Banting who, along with Charles Best, first conceived the idea which led to the discovery of insulin in 1922.

In 2007 and 2008, the theme of World Diabetes Day is Diabetes in Children and Adolescents. Diabetes is one of the most common chronic diseases of childhood. Type 1 diabetes is growing by 3% per year in children and adolescents, and at an alarming 5% per year among pre-school children. It is estimated that 70,000 children under 15 develop type 1 diabetes each year (almost 200 children a day). Currently, an estimated 440,000 children live with type 1 diabetes globally. Type 2 diabetes was once seen as a disease of adults but today, it is growing at alarming rates in children and adolescents.

The International Diabetes Federation's two year focus on children through the World Diabetes Day campaign, aims to increase awareness among parents and caregivers, teachers, healthcare professionals, politicians and the public."

The Link Between OSA and Diabetes?

Sleep apnea and diabetes have been shown to have significant link (a link that is not fully understand as of yet) and physicians who treated individuals with diabetes are urged to have patients screened for Obstructive Sleep Apnea. Below are some interesting links that touch on current research about the link between sleep apnea and diabetes:

Sleep Apnea Treatment May Improve Diabetes (WebMD)

The Sleep Apnea-Diabetes Connection 

Doctors Urged to Take Link Between Sleep Apnea and Diabetes More Seriously

Sleep Apnea and Type 2 Diabetes

·         Treatment pressure

3.      Your Mask is Key:  your mask is key to maintain a good relationship with your CPAP, therefore you should clean the soft cushion of you mask daily and the mask frame and headgear should be cleaned weekly.

CPAP Supply USA has NEW products with amazing new feature for CPAP users like you.

Introducing Puritan Bennett Sandman Info CPAP and Humidifier.  This machine is conveniently designed to provide CPAP users with therapy and heated humidification in an extremely small and compact body design.  Weighing in at 2.65 pounds it is quiet, discreet, user friendly for nightly use at home, and includes a variety of traveling-friendly features like the ability to run on AC/DC or external battery power and an altitude compression feature that automatically adjusts pressure up to 9,000 feet of elevation.  The Sandman Info  is a fully data capable CPAP that detects and records extensive patient usage and compliance data including apneas, hypopneas, inspiratory flow limitations, snoring and leaks.

The Sandman Auto CPAP and Humidifier, also by Puritan Bennett, embodies the same basic features as the Sandman Info, as far as being user-friendly and traveling-friendly, but with one major difference.  The Sandman Auto uses Adaptive Pressure Stability to react automatically to an extensive set of respiratory events by accurately delivering pressure, increasing only when necessary to optimize patient comfort and clinical efficacy.

CPAP Supply USA’s next new product is the IntelliPAP Standard CPAP by DeVilbiss.  This machine was designed with CPAP users and providers in mind. With its combination of comfort, education and adherence tracking with SmartCode this device offers supreme CPAP therapy with tons of different features.

The final new product being offered at CPAP Supply USA is also by DeVilbiss.  It’s the DeVilbiss IntelliPAP Auto CPAP machine.  This device incorporates many of the recommendations solicited thorough research to optimize patient adherence.  The IntellPAP Auto CPAP offers a combination of comfort, education, and patented AutoAdjust technology that helps to ensure your comfort and compliance.

Sleep is a behavioral state that is a natural part of every individual’s life and is vital to our health and well being.  Millions of individuals are not getting enough sleep, or are suffering from other sleep problems, such as Obstructive Sleep Apnea.  If you are one of the millions of people suffering from this problem, you should know that there are little things you can do that can aid you in a achieving a better nights sleep.  At Stress.About.com, there is an article written by Elizabeth Scott that gives you the “Top 8 Sleep Aids for a Better Night’s Sleep”.  Here are the top 8 sleep aids that can change the overall comfort in your bedroom and improve how you sleep at night.

In recent years research has shown an underlying link between amount of sleep and weight in the American population. Surveys have found that individuals who sleep fewer hours tend to have a higher Body Mass Index (or BMI, one indicator of being overweight or obese), while other studies have linked sleep to the production of hormones that help control appetite.

Due to conditions like sleep apnea, which when untreated, constantly affect the quality of sleep each night, there seems to be a connection between quality and amount of sleep and weight gain. While this is definitely not the only factor in the very complex process of gaining weight, the quality of your sleep may very well have an impact on your weight gain or loss. As always, we recommend always completing your sleep apnea treatment as prescribed and always reviewing possible health benefits of sleep therapy with your physician.

Studies like the one above consistently reinforce the idea that OSA sufferers must remain compliant with CPAP therapy to ensure that the medical conditions associated with sleep disorders do not develop or continue. At CPAP Supply USA, we know that being treated with CPAP can be very tough, inconvenient, and uncomfortable, but due to its undeniable benefits, we try to educate our CPAP users on why therapy is so important for their health. We have also added products that we believe can truly help with CPAP compliance; visit our new CPAP Comfort Center to see some products that may help with the overall comfort of your therapy!

Fifty to 70 million Americans chronically suffer from a disorder of sleep and wakefulness.

Drivers are up to seven times more likely to have an automobile accident if they have untreated obstructive sleep apnea.

Sleep apnea occurs in all age groups and both sexes, but it is more common in males and in those over the age of 40.

The most common symptoms of Obstructive Sleep Apnea are loud snoring and excessive sleepiness (i.e., falling asleep easily and sometimes often inappropriately).

Do you think you may be an Obstructive Sleep Apnea sufferer? Complete our automatically-scored Berlin Questionnaire and Epworth Sleepiness Scale (two very prominent tools for the diagnosis of OSA) and see if your sleeping problems are possibly related to this very common disorder.

The beginning of May has been a busy month for us here at CPAPSupplyUSA.com. We have loaded tons of new products and are planning many of our summer sales events. New products on the site include the following:

Many new parts from ResMed, including elbow assemblies, exhaust vents, forehead supports, and valves!

The SleepNet petite gel mask, the MiniMe is now active on the site and will be great for users with REALLY petite noses who cannot find masks that seal properly or for pediatric uses

An economic alternative in nasal masks has also recently been added, the basic, yet comfortable Tiara Advantage Nasal CPAP Mask

Within the family of cleaning products we currently carry, we have add a concentrated cleanser that works well for tubing and humidifier tanks (items that require full submersion for disinfecting), the Citrus II CPAP Concentrated Cleanser (32 oz. makes 8 gallons of cleaner!)

In addition to the new Puritan Bennett Sandman Intro with Integrated Humidifier, we now also carry the Sandman Intro WITHOUT humidifier, a lightweight, travel-friendly machine that weighs just over 2 pounds.

Currently, we are also promoting a few of our most popular products through some special sales events. Fisher & Paykel CPAP Masks have recently all been reduced in price. Puritan Bennett CPAP and BiLevel machines are also currently on sale and include 1 year of free tubing and filters with every machine purchase. To view all of our current sales items, visit our Sale Area (bookmark this page, as sales items change often!). Good luck everyone in your search for your supplies!