CPAP in Nova Scotia

 CPAP (Continuous Positive Airway Pressure) provides one constant pressure to the patient

APAP or AutoPAP or AutoCPAP (Automatic Positive Airway Pressure) automatically titrates, or tunes, the amount of pressure delivered to the patient to the minimum required to maintain an unobstructed airway on a breath-by-breath basis by measuring the resistance in the patient's breathing, thereby giving the patient the precise pressure required at a given moment and avoiding the compromise of fixed pressure.

VPAP™ or BiPAP® (Variable/Bilevel Positive Airway Pressure) provides two levels of pressure: one for inhalation (IPAP) and a lower pressure during exhalation (EPAP)

xPAP ST (Spontaneous Time) is a machine that has a minimum respiratory rate, if you breathe below this rate the machine will deliver breaths @ your prescribed inspiratory / expiratory pressures.  It is used to treat patients with central apneas.

BiPAP uses an electronic circuit to monitor the patient's breathing, unlike continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) and provides two different pressures, a higher one during inhalation (IPAP) and a lower pressure during exhalation (EPAP).

A BiPAP machine is more costly, and is sometimes used with patients who have a higher than average CPAP pressure and/or who find breathing out against an increased pressure to be uncomfortable or troublesome to their sleep.