Mercy Health Saint Mary’s Offers New Technology to Treat Obstructive Sleep Apnea

Grand Rapids, Mich. (February 5, 2020) – Mercy Health Saint Mary’s is the first health care system in Grand Rapids to offer Inspire, a treatment option for Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA). Inspire is a hypoglossal nerve stimulator that works inside the body while the patient sleeps.

OSA, which affects 18 million Americans, occurs when the airway collapses during sleep and blocks the flow of oxygen to the brain. The brain senses a lack of oxygen and wakes the body up, just long enough to take a breath, and falls back asleep. This cycle repeats throughout the night and causes poor, disrupted sleep.

When left untreated, OSA can cause daytime fatigue and sleepiness, and an increased risk for car accidents and mood disorders, such as depression. It can also increase the risk of high blood pressure, coronary artery disease, heart attack, heart failure and stoke.

Inspire works inside the body with a patient’s natural breathing process to treat OSA. The Inspire system is inserted under the skin through three small incisions during an outpatient procedure. Mild stimulation keeps the airway open during sleep, allowing oxygen to flow naturally. Patients use a small, handheld remote to turn Inspire on before bed and off when they wake up. Patients can increase or decrease the strength of the stimulation to find the setting that gives them comfortable, restful sleep.

“Many patients believe that Continuous Positive Airway Pressure, also known as CPAP, is the only treatment for OSA,” said Christopher Morgan, MD, medical director of Mercy Health Sleep Center. “Although there have been a lot of advancements and improvements in CPAP, it may not work for everyone. Inspire was developed for patients who could not use or weren’t able to get benefit from CPAP.”

Inspire therapy is FDA-approved and fit for patients who:

• Have been diagnosed with moderate to severe OSA
• Are unable to use or get consistent benefit from Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP)
• Are not significantly overweight
• Are over age 22

Mercy Health is hosting a free, educational event about Inspire on Tuesday, February 18, 6:30 p.m. at Mercy Health Lacks Cancer Center in Grand Rapids. Register here.

To learn more about Inspire or to schedule a consultation, call 616-685-6330.