Sleep apnea
A little known disorder
Sleep apnea is a little known disorder that is mainly characterized by pauses in breathing during sleep. Air Liquide offers treatments to help patients suffering from this disorder.
Video
Sleep apnea consists of frequent and prolonged pauses in breathing, for at least 10 seconds, during sleep. These respiratory episodes end with rapid arousals of between 3 and 15 seconds that are unperceived by the patient, but that fragment the sleep. Sleep Apnea Syndrome (SAS) is defined as 5 or more episodes of apnea per hour of sleep.
There are several symptoms: the patient snores, usually very loudly, and breathing is frequently interrupted and perceptible by the partner. A night’s sleep is not restful at all: patients therefore tend to doze off easily during the day. They also feel considerable fatigue, leading to irritability or headaches.
SAS causes significant indirect mortality linked to the higher risk of road traffic or occupational accidents, cardiovascular disease, strokes and, more generally, deterioration in one’s quality of life.
Suitable treatment consists of using equipment which ensures the passage of air into the respiratory tract during the night.
This equipment must be combined with compliance monitoring. Otherwise, almost 50% of patients interrupt the treatment before 6 months. As well as supplying highly effective traditional equipment, Air Liquide is implementing an innovative support program for apnea patients treated at home.
More about
- Sleep apnea and the issues for Air Liquide (French only)
- Launch of a new accompanying program (French only)
- Detect sleep apnea (French only)
