How BetterNight Helps Cardiac Patients and Practitioners
Over 80 million people in the United States suffer from one or more forms of cardiovascular disease, according to the American Heart Association. Cardiovascular disease is responsible for 1 in 4 deaths in the US and is the number one killer globally. Cardiovascular disease is also a comorbidity of obstructive sleep apnea, and the AHA estimates that between 40 and 80 percent of those who suffer from cardiovascular disease also have sleep apnea. While sleep medicine practitioners believe cardiologists can play an important role in providing their patients access to sleep care, the current sleep care system has proven to be inefficient and flawed.
The American Academy of Sleep Medicine reports that over 30 million people in the US suffer from Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA), the most prevalent type of sleep apnea. OSA is characterized by frequent, repeated interruptions in breathing during sleep. Obstructive Sleep Apnea has serious cardiovascular comorbidities, including high blood pressure, arrhythmia, stroke, and heart failure. When breathing stops during a sleep apnea event, oxygen levels in the blood drop. Our bodies respond by releasing the stress hormone epinephrine, more commonly known as adrenaline. This response elevates the heart rate and can lead to high blood pressure. Overall heart function decreases because it becomes less efficient at pumping blood, and the heart itself is affected because of the pressure changes taking place in the chest. The National Institute of Health reports that OSA increases the risk of heart failure by 140%, stroke by 60%, and coronary heart disease by 30%.
Because cardiovascular disease and Obstructive Sleep Apnea are so intertwined, it makes sense for cardiologists and sleep specialists to work collaboratively. But they need to work with a system that sees their roles as valued partners and centers on the patient experience. Our current sleep management system offers silos of treatment with fragmented care spread among diverse specialists, labs, and durable medical equipment suppliers. Because of this uncoordinated effort, the process from diagnosis to treatment can take up to 4 months, at which point patients can become disengaged. BetterNight knew that by working directly with cardiologists, they could get their patients to treatment quickly, economically, and with the convenience of in-home access. As a virtual one-stop shop, BetterNight guides patients through diagnosis and treatment with the help of personalized sleep navigators who offer ongoing clinical coaching. Once a patient is diagnosed with OSA, BetterNight delivers CPAP treatment directly to the home, with no middlemen or additional specialists needed. The time from diagnosis to treatment can take as little as two weeks, and offers transparency with tracking and reporting back to the physician. Cardiologists have reported that by including OSA treatment for their patients, they see decreases in the incidence of coronary artery disease.
By adding BetterNight to their practices, cardiologists can continue to focus on improved patient outcomes without compromising their current resources. BetterNight’s cross-disciplinary approach brings the best of sleep medicine to cardiology practices resulting in improved sleep and cardiovascular health for their patients.