HMC treats sleep apnea and other sleep disorders

Written by: David Castillo on August 2nd, 2010

HMC treats sleep apnea and other sleep disorders | read this item

The Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC) specializes in treating patients with sleep-disordered breathing, which includes sleep apnea and alveolar hypoventilation.

Dr. Abdul Aziz al-Hashemi, head of the company’s sleep lab, says that sleep apnea causes the sufferer to suffocate during sleep hours, which can become critical if left undiagnosed and untreated.

“We at HMC get almost 44 such cases every month and almost 14 patients are tested for sleep apnea in our lab every month,” said Dr. Aziz al-Hashemi.

HMC experts attribute some sleep apnea cases to obesity.

In order to diagnose sleep apnea, HMC requires overnight analysis—where a patient’s breathing pattern and other vital parameters are measured and checked.

When a person is diagnosed with sleep apnea, he/she is put through Bipap therapy, which makes use of a non-invasive machine to facilitate proper breathing during sleep.

Source: Gulf Times