Bilevel devices can provide therapy:
- For people with Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA) if they have found continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) therapy too difficult
- Provide noninvasive positive pressure ventilation (NPPV) for people with respiratory disorders or other forms of Sleep-Disordered Breathing (SDB)
Bilevel therapy works by delivering two different levels of positive air pressure:
- A higher level of pressure when you breathe in
- A lower level of pressure when you breathe out
Although both are non-invasive, Bilevel and CPAP therapy differ in two significant ways:
- Bilevel devices deliver two levels of air pressure that are set to coincide with the patient's inspiratory and expiratory efforts
- Bilevel therapy can be used to treat conditions other than sleep apnea (OSA) and is the first line of treatment for a wide-range of respiratory disorders
Frequently Treated Conditions
Physicians may use bilevel therapy to treat a broad range of conditions, including:
- Nocturnal hypoventilation
- Respiratory insufficiency
- Neuromuscular disease
- Respiratory failure
- Chest wall deformity
- Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)
- ALS or Lou Gehrig's disease
- OSA*
*Bilevel therapy is not typically prescribed for OSA patients; however, OSA patients who require high treatment pressures or have another respiratory condition are often candidates for bilevel therapy.