continuous positive airway pressure

noun

: a technique for relieving breathing problems (such as those associated with sleep apnea or congestive heart failure) by pumping a steady flow of air at constant pressure through the nose to prevent the narrowing or collapse of air passages or to help the lungs to expand

—abbreviation CPAP compare bilevel positive airway pressure

Examples of continuous positive airway pressure in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

To qualify for the device, called a hypoglossal nerve stimulator, a person over 18 diagnosed with moderate-to-severe obstructive sleep apnea must be unable to adapt or refuse to wear a continuous positive airway pressure, or CPAP, machine, the gold standard treatment for obstructive sleep apnea. —Sandee Lamotte, CNN, 4 Apr. 2024

The White House also announced last summer that Biden had begun using a continuous positive airway pressure, or CPAP, machine at night to help with sleep apnea — which could be reflected in the final report his doctors will release on Biden’s physical on Wednesday. —Darlene Superville, Fortune, 28 Feb. 2024

Four-year-old Ana, also a patient at Columbia University Irving Medical Center, has been to the intensive care unit twice, both times requiring continuous positive airway pressure, or CPAP, to breathe. —Dr. Edith Bracho-Sanchez, CNN, 13 Feb. 2024

The standard therapy, called CPAP (continuous positive airway pressure), which uses a machine to keep airways open, can be cumbersome and hard to stick with, but most patients can adjust over time, experts said. —Karen Weintraub, USA TODAY, 29 Jan. 2024

The devices are called continuous positive airway pressure, or CPAP, machines. —CBS News, 29 Jan. 2024

The news organizations found that the FDA had received hundreds of complaints about contamination inside Philips’ popular continuous positive airway pressure, or CPAP, machines and ventilators long before the June 2021 recall but took no action to alert doctors or patients. —Jonathan D. Salant, ProPublica, 13 Dec. 2023

Its continuous positive airway pressure, or CPAP, machines help people breathe consistently while sleeping. —Natallie Rocha, San Diego Union-Tribune, 5 Dec. 2023

Millions of ventilators, continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) and bi-level positive airway pressure (BiPAP) machines were impacted by the recall. —Debbie Cenziper, ProPublica, 27 Sep. 2023

Word History

First Known Use

1975, in the meaning defined above

Medical Definition

continuous positive airway pressure

noun

: a technique for relieving breathing problems (as those associated with sleep apnea or congestive heart failure) by pumping a steady flow of air of constant pressure through the nose to prevent the narrowing or collapse of air passages or to help the lungs to expand

The most common treatment for patients with sleep apnea is to provide continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) at the upper airway, usually through a nasal mask, during sleep.

—Jeffrey M. Drazen

—abbreviation CPAP compare bilevel positive airway pressure, positive end-expiratory pressure