"Sleep apnea" causes a person to repeatedly stop breathing for short periods while sleeping, interrupting both respiration and rest. The condition may have one of two causes. In "obstructive sleep apnea" (the most common type), the airway is blocked when soft tissues in the throat relax and collapse during sleep. In "central sleep apnea", there is no blockage but the brain fails to tell the muscles to breathe. "Mixed apnea" is a combination of these two.

Sleep apnea is very common, however, untreated sleep apnea is a very dangerous disease, putting sufferers at risk for stroke, coronary heart disease, heart failure, irregular heartbeat, heart attack, and high blood pressure. Recommended treatment regimens for sleep apnea usually start with lifestyle changes such as avoiding alcohol, sedatives and muscle relaxants; losing weight; and quitting smoking.

For situations where these remedies are not effective, Access Respiratory Homecare offers a full line of CPAP and BiPAP units, masks and accessories. CPAP stands for "Continuous Positive Airway Pressure". CPAP therapy delivers pressurized air to the sleep apnea patient through a mask that is worn while sleeping. The air pressure prevents collapse of the throat tissue, keeping the airway continuously open during sleep.

BiPAP therapy, "Bi-level Positive Airway Pressure" is very similar to CPAP except the air pressure level is alternated between two settings during the respiratory cycle. This facilitates expulsion of carbon dioxide and waste products from the lungs in cases where lung function has been compromised by disease or trama.