A new study shows that individuals diagnosed with sleep apnea are often not given additional treatment options besides CPAP therapy, reports HealthDay.

More than half of those diagnosed with sleep apnea fail to stick with the standard treatment for the condition, the CPAP mask, a new study says.

And most aren’t given additional options or referred to a specialist, even when they can’t tolerate the first treatment.

Obstructive sleep apnea is a common breathing disorder in which a person frequently stops or slows their breathing during sleep. The standard treatment is continuous positive airway pressure, or CPAP. A CPAP mask pushes air into the person’s airways while they sleep.

“The most striking thing about our study is that this is the first study to look at how many patients are using CPAP after a diagnosis of obstructive sleep apnea,” said corresponding author Dr. Alan Kominsky, an assistant professor of surgery at Cleveland Clinic in Ohio.

Get the full story at healthday.com