What is BiPAP?
BiPAP refers to bilevel or two-level positive airway pressure.
Like CPAP, this OSA treatment works by sending air through a tube into a mask that fits over the nose.
While CPAP generally delivers a single pressure, BiPAP delivers two: an inhale pressure and an exhale pressure. These two pressures are known as inhalation positive airway pressure (IPAP) and exhalation positive airway pressure (EPAP).
BiPAP machines are sometimes also called BPAP machines. BiPAP was originally a brand name, but it has become synonymous with the machine itself and is now more common than BPAP.
BiPAP machines have similar low range pressure zones as APAP and CPAP, but they offer a higher peak pressure flow of 25 cmH2O. Thus, this machine is best if you need moderate- to high-pressure ranges.
NIV is often described as BiPAP, however, BiPAP is the trade name. As the name suggests provides differing airway pressure depending on inspiration and expiration. The inspiratory positive airways pressure (iPAP) is higher than the expiratory positive airways pressure (ePAP). Therefore, ventilation is provided mainly by iPAP, whereas ePAP recruits under ventilated or collapsed alveoli for gas exchange and allows for the removal of the exhaled gas. In the acute setting, NIV is used in type 2 respiratory failure (for example in a COPD exacerbation), with respiratory acidosis (pH < 7.35)
If you have sleep apnea or another condition that affects your breathing, your doctor might have mentioned a bilevel positive airway pressure machine, or BiPAP, to you. Sometimes called a BPAP, it’s a device that helps you breathe.
Some medical problems can make it hard for you to breathe. In these cases, you might benefit from bilevel positive airway pressure. It is commonly known as “BiPap” or “BPap.” It is a type of ventilator—a device that helps with breathing.
During normal breathing, your lungs expand when you breathe in. This is caused by the diaphragm, which is the main muscle of breathing in your chest, going in a downward direction. This causes the pressure to drop inside the tubes and sacs of your lungs. This decrease in pressure sucks air into your lungs. They fill with oxygenated air.
If you have trouble breathing, a BiPap machine can help push air into your lungs. You wear a mask or nasal plugs that are connected to the ventilator. The machine supplies pressurized air into your airways. It is called “positive pressure ventilation” because the device helps open your lungs with this air pressure.
BiPap is only one type of positive pressure ventilator. While using BiPap, you receive positive air pressure when you breathe in and when you breathe out. But you receive higher air pressure when you breathe in. This setting is different from other types of ventilators. For instance, continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) delivers the same amount of pressure as you breathe in and out. Different medical problems may respond better to BiPap versus CPAP.
