Sleep Apnea
Definition
Sleep apnea is a sleep disorder characterized by repeated interruptions in breathing during sleep, leading to disrupted sleep and reduced oxygen levels in the blood. The most common types are obstructive sleep apnea, caused by a blockage of the airway, and central sleep apnea, resulting from a failure of the brain to signal the muscles to breathe.
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Pulmonary, Critical Care & Sleep Medicine
At Yale Medicine, our pulmonary, critical care, and sleep medicine physicians focus on your respiratory health. We have a team of specialists to diagnose, treat, and manage respiratory conditions that affect your lungs and breathing. From asthma to complex lung diseases, our goal is to help you breathe easier. Our doctors are board-certified in internal medicine, pulmonary medicine, critical care, and sleep medicine. These expert physicians work closely with specialists in cardiology, diagnostic radiology, and pathology to provide you with comprehensive care for your respiratory condition. Office visits take place at the Winchester Center for Lung Disease in North Haven, Connecticut. Our sleep specialists treat most types of sleep disorders and see patients at our sleep centers at 3 locations in New Haven County. Specialized care is offered in the following areas: Adult cystic fibrosis Asthma and airway diseases Bronchiectasis and chronic pulmonary infections Cardiorespiratory exercise testing Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) Clinical research in a wide range of lung diseases Interstitial lung disease Lung cancer screening and pulmonary nodule evaluation Medical intensive care unit for pulmonary conditions Multidisciplinary sleep care Pulmonary embolism Pulmonary function laboratory Pulmonary vascular disease Sleep apnea and other sleep disorders Thoracic interventional pulmonary embolism Thoracic oncology TuberculosisPediatric Aerodigestive Program
We provide care and treatment to children and adolescents with airway, breathing, and swallowing disorders caused by problems in the aerodigestive tract, including the throat, lungs, esophagus, and stomach. Our expert team includes specialists from pulmonary medicine, interventional pulmonology, gastroenterology, nutrition, otolaryngology, and pediatric surgery, as well as speech, language, and occupational therapy. Our dedicated feeding disorders team consists of gastroenterologists; a nutritionist; occupational, speech, and language therapists; pediatric surgeons; and a behaviorist. Together, we offer a unified approach to treat patients with advanced feeding issues. Conditions we treat: Aspiration and recurrent pneumonia Airway obstruction from tumors or other growths Bronchomalacia, tracheomalacia, and airway collapsibility Chronic cough Dysphagia Esophageal atresia Eosinophilic esophagitis Pediatric gastroesophageal reflux with persistent symptoms Laryngomalacia Stridor Glottic, tracheal, and bronchial stenosis (narrowing) of the airways Tracheoesophageal fistula Vocal cord dysfunction/paralysis Other medically complex thoracic diseases requiring coordinated subspecialty care We provide feeding evaluations for patients with: Craniofacial abnormalities Developmental or neurological disorders Dysphagia Failure to thrive G tube or NG tube management; tube feeding dependency Intestinal failure Minimal diversity in diet Oral aversions: sensory and/or texture issues TE fistula, laryngeal Cleft, vocal cord paralysis TracheotomyInternal Medicine
Covering every aspect of health care for adults, Internal Medicine is the largest department in the Yale School of Medicine, and the largest clinical service at Yale New Haven Hospital. We provide comprehensive and specialized services in all areas in a variety of outpatient settings as well as the Veterans Affairs (VA) Connecticut Health Care System campus in West Haven. Our culture of collaboration and research gives patients access to expert opinions from nearly 1,000 doctors, as well as opportunities to get tomorrow’s health care today through more than 100 clinical trials. Most importantly, we attend to our diverse community of patients with compassionate, thorough care. Specialized care is offered in the following areas: Allergy & clinical immunology Cardiovascular medicine Digestive diseases Endocrinology General internal medicine Geriatrics Hematology Infectious diseases Medical oncology Occupational health & environmental medicine Nephrology Pulmonology, critical care & sleep medicine Rheumatology International reputation for work in understanding function, independence, and quality of life in older persons Key research breakthroughs of the past decade that include the development of a protective Lyme bacillus disease vaccine, exploration of the underlying causes of allergic disease, and the discovery of novel inherited immunological diseases Largest interventional cardiology program in Connecticut Major referral center for patients with type 1 and type 2 diabetes, as well as other metabolic conditions Nationally ranked program in kidney diseases and the largest kidney transplant program in New England, with multidisciplinary care clinics One of the largest peripheral vascular programs in the country, with leadership and participation in multiple new percutaneous device trials Once of only a few motility centers in Connecticut to provide all motility procedures and services Unique medical forensic exams for individuals with claims of torture who are seeking asylum in the U.S.