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Styles of CPAP Machines

Obstructive sleep apnea is a partial or total collapse of the airway. This can happen as few as five times per hour or more than thirty times per hour; each occurrence is known as an apnea. Every apnea event causes strain to the heart and circulatory systems which in turn instantly causes stress to most of the organs and systems of the body due to lack of full oxygen-rich blood flow. Left untreated, sleep apnea can provoke very rapid heart failure and death within minutes.



The most common treatment for obstructive sleep apnea is (CPAP) Continuous Positive Airway Pressure machines. All CPAP machines have three common factors: they are classified as a medical devise and must have FDA approval, they require a physician's prescription, and they require some type of mask.

  1. Automatic Adjusting Machines

    • One type of CPAP machine is the water filled, heated humidifier. The pressurized air from the machine's air output port flows across the surface of the heated water and then continues to the patient's mask. Some CPAP units have the ability for worldwide use because the internal circuitry can automatically adapt to foreign currents. Altitude above sea level is a major component of pressurized air, so this CPAP machine can automatically adjust for altitude and deliver the prescribed pressure. Some types can switch to operating on direct current from a boat or car battery.

    Programmable Machines

    • Ramping is a type of CPAP that slowly increases the air pressure until reaching the correct pressure. This machine allows the patient to adapt to the pressure gradually, eliminating the discomfort and panic that full, immediate pressure can cause. Programmable machines sense the varying pressure needs of the sleeping patient and automatically adjusts.

      Bi-level programmable CPAP machines operate at two different programmed pressures, one for inhalation and one for exhalation. A recently approved CPAP model offers constant inhalation pressure and variable exhalation pressures determined by the machine based upon data gathered as the patient sleeps.

    Physician Monitoring Machines

    • A Physician Monitoring machine monitors how often a patient uses the machine, capturing and recording data to a small card-like storage media. The CPAP records the actual number and intensity of apnea events and can be computer downloaded from the storage media for analysis by the physician. This home-based technology is still emerging and may eliminate the need for a polysomnography (sleep test) in the future.

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