Massive recall of sleep apnea machines and slow replacement impacts patients

Last summer, millions of continuous positive airway pressure, or CPAP, machines used by sleep apnea patients were recalled by Dutch manufacturer Phillips due to an issue related to a sound-dampening foam in the device that can break down over time, causing users to potentially inhale tiny black particles of hazardous chemicals while they sleep. If absorbed by a patient, serious respiratory problems and even cancer could occur. 

Without a CPAP, patients with sleep apnea can repeatedly stop breathing throughout the night. There are other machines that were recalled, including certain ventilators, as well as bi-level positive airway pressure machines.

Phillips initally said the company could repair or replace the units within a year, but since the recall has now grown to more than 5 million devices worldwide, the company recently announced the replacement effort will drag on until next year, leaving many patients to find alternative therapies on their own, or to sleep without the machine. And the risks are far greater than waking up your partner with your snoring.

We're going to start this hour on the "Sound of Ideas" talking to a local expert in sleep apnea about the recall's impacts on patients, as well as alternative therapies for those who are waiting on a replacement device. 

Later this hour, we'll discuss the low voter turnout in Cleveland and other urban areas in the state last week, and ask how to get more people engaged in the voting process in future elections.

-Reena Mehra, MD, Staff Physician & Director, Sleep Disorders Research, Cleveland Clinic
-Ifeolu Claytor, Deputy Director of Issue and Electoral Organizing, State Voices & Treasurer, Northeast Ohio Young Black Democrats
-Erika Anthony, Co-Founder, Cleveland VOTES 
-Tessa Xuan, Co-founder, AAMP Ohio