YORK, Pa. — Between 50 to 70 million adults in our country have a sleep disorder, and sleep apnea is one of the most common.
For some, snoring can be perfectly normal. For others, like Scott Yucha, it meant he was struggling to breathe due to severe sleep apnea.
"There was a long time that I thought the rest of the world felt like I did," said Yucha. "We've got children, they're up in the middle of the night, we work hard, we are just all tired. Everybody's tired."
Yucha was diagnosed with severe obstructive sleep apnea in 2006.
"It got to a point where I would be in the middle of a conversation with my wife and I would just fall asleep," he said.
The Mechanicsburg resident tried nearly everything, including a CPAP machine.
"The mask itself is uncomfortable; it would wake me up," he said.
Knowing how dangerous sleep apnea can be, Scott went to see Dr. John Levri at UPMC.
"If left unchecked for 20 to 40 years, it can cause things like strokes, heart attacks and atrial fibrillation," Dr. Levri said.
He told Scott about an FDA-approved treatment called Inspire Upper Airway Stimulation. The device is fully implanted into a patient's chest, and it works by delivering mild stimulation to keep a patient's airway open.
When the patient is ready for bed, all they need to do is simply click the remote to turn Inspire on. While sleeping, Inspire will open the airway, allowing the patient to breathe normally and get a peaceful night of sleep.
"It's sensing when you breathe in, sending a signal from the device up to the nerve that controls the motor function of the tongue," the doctor stated.
The device is small and portable, which Scott loves, as do most of Dr. Levri's clients.
"We're having a lot of success with getting these patients on some therapy they can actually use," Dr. Levri said.
However, Inspire therapy is not for everyone. To qualify, a patient must be at least 18 years old and diagnosed with moderate to severe obstructive sleep apnea. They also need to prove that they're unable to use or get consistent help from a CPAP machine.
For more information about Inspire therapy, click here.