PEI

New program could help Islanders breathe easier at night

About 5,000 Islanders suffer from sleep apnea, a condition that causes a person to stop breathing frequently throughout the night.

Program will collect donations of gently-used sleep apnea machines

A photo of a continuous positive airway pressure machine.
For those with sleep apnea not having a sleep apnea machine can result in high blood pressure, risk of diabetes and risk of heart disease. (Jean Delisle/CBC)

More Islanders could be breathing easier at night thanks to a new program from the P.E.I. Lung Association.

About 5,000 Islanders suffer from sleep apnea, a condition that causes a person to stop breathing frequently throughout the night, said Julia Hartley, association co-ordinator for the P.E.I. Lung Association.

She also said not all medical plans cover sleep apnea therapy, which can cost from $1,500 to $5,000.

The Sleep Apnea Refurbishment Program will collect donations of gently-used sleep apnea machines, send them to Dalhousie University for refurbishing, and then provide them to Islanders.

"We are going to be handing them out to low-income Islanders who don't have insurance, who can't afford this therapy," Hartley said.

You can get a simple test done at home. They'll actually test you while you are sleeping.— Julia Hartley, P.E.I. Lung Association

Hartley said the same program has been successfully running in Nova Scotia for the last 10 years and now the Island is borrowing the blueprint.

"They've already given out over 1,000 machines," she said.

"It's very expensive and a lot of Islanders are living without it because our health-care system doesn't currently cover sleep apnea machines."

Machines open airways

People who have pauses in breathing during sleep can have it happen 30 times in an hour, Hartley said.

And not having a machine can result in high blood pressure, risk of diabetes, risk of heart disease and even creates higher chances of getting in a car accident because individuals are tired behind the wheel, Hartley said.

"So these machines actually keep the airways open for these individuals that suffer from sleep apnea and so they're able to have a good night's sleep and stay rested."

Julia Hartly in CBC studio.
'We're working with some of the Lions Clubs, they are going to be collecting the machines for us,' says Julia Hartley, association co-ordinator for the P.E.I. Lung Association. (CBC)

Some people may not know they have sleep apnea, Hartley said, and advised people speak with their doctors about getting tested.

"You can get a simple test done at home. They'll actually test you while you are sleeping."

Great community response

Hartley said there has been a great response to the program, though it is just in the preliminary stages.

"We have already given out four machines. We have about 10 people on our wait-list already."

Hartley said the community support for the project has been wonderful.

"Great response from the communities. So, the sleep apnea providers, we're working with some of the Lions Clubs, they are going to be collecting the machines for us," Hartley said.

"Everyone really sees this program as a need that we need in the community."

If you have a machine you would like to donate, or if you are interested in receiving a machine, visit the P.E.I. Lung Association website.

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With files from CBC News: Compass