Guadalupe Regional Medical Center |Health Currents | Fall 2024

grmedcenter.com | 3 Sleep is essential for health and wellbeing, yet many people don’t get the recommended seven to eight hours per night, leading to a higher risk for diabetes, heart disease, obesity and depression. Prioritizing sleep can protect your health, now and in the future. Struggling with sleep? Common sleep disorders such as insomnia, narcolepsy and sleep apnea can turn peaceful dreams into total nightmares. Our otolaryngologists, Jason Goodwin, MD, and Jennifer Hennessee, MD, diagnose and treat these conditions. One of the first steps our physicians recommend is undergoing a sleep study. Guadalupe Regional Medical Center launched a comprehensive sleep study program in July to help our patients find answers to sleep-related conditions. “If someone’s telling you, a partner, a friend or a family member, gosh, you really snore a lot at night, or if you have diabetes, high blood pressure or anything else like that, you really should be screened for sleep apnea,” says Dr. Hennessee. “There are very easy home sleep studies that can be done that aren’t real cumbersome and are cost-effective.” A better way to treat sleep disorders One of the newest innovations we offer is Inspire therapy, a small device for treating obstructive sleep apnea. It eliminates the need for CPAP machines’ large compressors, tubing and masks. Dr. Hennessee recommends it for patients with moderate to severe sleep apnea who can’t tolerate CPAP. Ideal candidates have a BMI of 36 or lower and a recent sleep study. If you meet all the requirements, a consultation to discuss the procedure would be the next step. “It’s an outpatient procedure, but there are strict guidelines on who’s qualified for it, and there’s a process for when your sleep study needs to be done,” says Dr. Goodwin. “You have to do a separate sleep endoscopy, and then you do the implant. The implant surgery itself is an in-and-out, same-day surgery.” Inspire therapy is a game-changer for individuals suffering from sleep apnea, offering a noninvasive and effective solution to improve sleep quality and overall health. Understanding the benefits of good sleep, common sleeping disorders and treatment options can help you make informed decisions about your sleep health and take proactive steps to improve your quality of life. Sources: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; Inspire Medical Systems Jason Goodwin, MD Jennifer Hennessee, MD Unlocking better sleep GRMC OFFERS INNOVATIVE TREATMENTS FOR SLEEP DISORDERS

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