What is the Difference Between BiPAP and CPAP Therapy?

The motor creates pressurized air, which is then blown through the hose into the mask. Masks can either go into your nose or over your mouth, depending on your needs. The pressurized air creates a cushion that keeps your airway open. By keeping the airway open the CPAP machine reduces the number of apnea episodes you have during the night.

What is BiPAP Therapy?

Now that we understand how CPAP works, let’s look at how BiPAP is different.

BiPAP therapy is actually very similar to CPAP. It has a mask, motor, and hose. The machine creates pressurized air that keeps your airway open while you sleep. Like CPAP therapy, BiPAP machines are also used to treat obstructive sleep apnea.

So, how is BiPAP different from CPAP?

BiPAP stands for bilevel positive air pressure. The bilevel part is where the difference lies. CPAP machines blow air at a steady pressure all night long. BiPAP machines have two levels of pressure, one for inhaling and one for exhaling. When you breathe in the pressure stays at one level, but when you breathe out the pressure drops down.

A BiPAP machine has three different settings for when the pressure changes take place:

• Spontaneous – automatically senses when your breathing changes and adjusts accordingly.
• Timed – the pressure changes are preset.
• Spontaneous timed – follows your natural breathing patterns but the timed switch turns on when it senses that you have dropped below a set number of breaths per minute.

When Would Someone Need CPAP vs BiPAP Therapy?

When Would Someone Need CPAP Therapy?

As we’ve already noted, CPAP therapy is the main treatment for obstructive sleep apnea. It’s the least invasive treatment option available. Therefore it’s often the first treatment considered for OSA patients. 

There are many benefits of choosing CPAP therapy. The biggest is just the fact that it lets you get the sleep you need.

Apnea episodes tend to occur so often at night that you aren’t able to go into deep REM sleep. This means your body isn’t getting the rest it needs. CPAP therapy keeps the airway open so you are able to get deeper, more restful sleep. 

When Would Someone Need BiPAP Therapy?

Since CPAP is so effective in treating sleep apnea, BiPAP is only recommended in specific situations.

The most common time when you need BiPAP therapy is if you can’t tolerate your CPAP machine. You may find it hard to exhale when using their CPAP machine. Breathing in is just fine. But because the air pressure remains the same, as you breathe out it can find some resistance. This can lead to feeling like you’re choking on air. 

BiPAP therapy resolves this issue by having different pressure levels when you breathe in and out. The pressure is a bit higher when you inhale. Then, as you exhale the pressure goes down. The lower pressure makes it easier for you to push air out. 

Another time you might want to consider BiPAP therapy is if you have central sleep apnea instead of OSA. Central sleep apnea is different from obstructive sleep apnea in that the cause is usually neurological. With central sleep apnea, your brain isn’t sending the right signals to the muscles that control your breathing. So you stop breathing completely, even though there’s no obstruction.

In some situations, you can have both OSA and CSA, this is known as complex sleep apnea. In this case, your OSA is treated with CPAP therapy, but you’re still struggling to breathe while you sleep. So you’ll need to use a BiPAP to help treat central sleep apnea.