DUBLIN -- Research and Markets (http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/3734dd/italy_anesthesia_a) has announced the addition of GlobalData's new report "Italy Anesthesia and Respiratory Devices Market Outlook to 2017- Respiratory Devices, Respiratory Measurement Devices, Airway and Anesthesia Devices, Anesthesia Machines, Sleep Apnea Diagnostic Systems, Pain Management Devices and Others" to their offering.

GlobalData's new report, Italy Anesthesia and Respiratory Devices Market Outlook to 2017- Respiratory Devices, Respiratory Measurement Devices, Airway and Anesthesia Devices, Anesthesia Machines, Sleep Apnea Diagnostic Systems, Pain Management Devices and Others provides key market data on the Italy Anesthesia and Respiratory Devices market. The report provides value (USD million), volume (units) and average price (USD) data for each segment and sub-segment within eight market categories - Airway and Anesthesia Devices, Anesthesia Machines, Pain Management Devices, Regional Anesthesia Disposables, Respiratory Devices, Respiratory Disposables, Respiratory Measurement Devices and Sleep Apnea Diagnostic Systems. The report also provides company shares and distribution shares data for each of the aforementioned market categories. The report is supplemented with global corporate-level profiles of the key market participants with information on company financials and pipeline products, wherever available.

Scope

• Market size and company share data for Anesthesia and Respiratory Devices market categories - Airway and Anesthesia Devices, Anesthesia Machines, Pain Management Devices, Regional Anesthesia Disposables, Respiratory Devices, Respiratory Disposables, Respiratory Measurement Devices and Sleep Apnea Diagnostic Systems.
• Annualized market revenues (USD million), volume (units) and average price (USD) data for each of the segments and sub-segments within eight market categories. Data from 2003 to 2010, forecast forward for 7 years to 2017.
• 2010 company shares and distribution shares data for each of the eight market categories.
• Global corporate-level profiles of key companies operating within the Italy Anesthesia and Respiratory Devicesmarket.

Companies Mentioned:

• Draegerwerk AG & Co. KGaA
• Covidien plc
• Smiths Medical
• ResMed Inc.
• GE Healthcare
• Teleflex Incorporated
• Philips Respironics, Inc.
• CareFusion Corporation
• Vygon SA
• Intersurgical Ltd.
• Fisher & Paykel Healthcare Corporation Limited
• HAMILTON MEDICAL AG
• B. Braun Medical Inc.
• MAQUET GmbH & Co. KG
• SIARE ENGINEERING INTERNATIONAL GROUP s.r.l.
• AIR LIQUIDE
• Becton, Dickinson and Company
• Heinen + Lowenstein GmbH
• Penlon Limited
• LMA International N.V.

For more information visit http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/3734dd/italy_anesthesia_a

Most people know that coronary heart disease is firmly linked to five basic risk factors: high cholesterol, high blood pressure, obesity, diabetes, and smoking.

But heart disease is a threat to practically everyone, not just hefty couch potatoes who smoke.

As scientists delve deeper into what causes and contributes to unhealthy hearts, they are finding an increasingly complex disease process. Inflammation, infection, and immune dysfunction are key players in the clogging, narrowing, and "hardening" of arteries that can lead to a complete cutoff of blood flow - a heart attack.

Researchers are also identifying a seemingly endless list of potentially dangerous habits. Last year, for example, a University of Miami study that followed 2,500 New Yorkers for nine years found that people who drank diet soda every day had a 61 percent higher risk of heart attacks and stroke than those who avoided the drinks - even after the researchers adjusted for age, smoking, exercise, and daily calories.

Critics quickly noted that the study could not say whether the diet-soda drinkers were downing Big Macs, fries, and other foods that might be the real villains.

While many suspected risk factors remain controversial, some unusual suspects have amassed a convincing body of evidence. Among them:

Gum disease

If your gums aren't healthy - and about a quarter of Americans have some periodontal (gum) disease - then your heart may be suffering along with your teeth.

Large population studies have consistently found that people with gum disease are more likely to develop heart disease than those with healthy gums.

This link is not simple, since people who don't brush and floss tend to have other bad habits such as smoking and eating junk food.

But the link "definitely" makes biological sense, concluded leading gum-disease specialists and cardiologists in a joint 2009 statement.

Gum disease is a bacterial infection, and infection triggers inflammation. Chronic inflammation plays a role in the buildup of fatty plaques that cause atherosclerosis, or hardening of the arteries. What's more, people with gum disease have elevated levels of C-reactive protein (CRP), a marker of bodily inflammation that is a risk factor for cardiovascular disease.

The experts recommend that if you have gum disease and at least one other cardiac risk factor, such as high cholesterol, get a medical evaluation. And if you already know you have heart disease, talk to your dentist about whether your "oral hygiene" needs brushing up.

Immune problems

Chronic inflammation is also a hallmark of autoimmune diseases, in which infection-fighting cells attack the body's own tissues.

In recent years, scientists have clearly shown that two autoimmune disorders - rheumatoid arthritis and lupus - increase the risk of heart disease.

Of course, you can't simply eliminate these risk factors if you have them. What's more, corticosteroids commonly used to treat autoimmune disorders can increase blood pressure.

But you can control traditional heart disease factors such as smoking and weight. You can also be on guard for symptoms of heart trouble. In their new book, Heart 411, cardiologists Marc Gillinov and Steven Nissen describe a middle-age woman who attributed unfamiliar pain in her back and shoulder to her rheumatoid arthritis. She was shocked when she belatedly discovered she'd had a heart attack and needed a procedure to unblock an artery.

Sleep

Snoring can be even harder on the heart than on a marriage.

Snoring is now recognized as a classic symptom of sleep apnea - periods when breathing stops because relaxed throat muscles narrow or block the airway. These brief sleep interruptions are momentary cardiac mayhem, decreasing oxygen, increasing blood pressure, altering blood clotting and heartbeat. Over time, apnea increases the risk of hypertension, artery blockages, stroke, heart failure, irregular heartbeat, even sudden death.

Fortunately, awareness and treatment of apnea have grown. Unfortunately, most people don't know that almost any sleep disruption can be hard on the heart if it goes on indefinitely. Shift work, insomnia, frequent waking, or sleeping six hours a night or less can have harmful cardiovascular effects - not to mention make you tired and irritable.

The remedy, experts say, is as simple as it is difficult to achieve: Get about seven hours of sleep a night. (Go easy on the alcohol and caffeine near bedtime.)

Irregular periods

Polycystic ovary syndrome, which affects an estimated 10 percent of women, is a complex metabolic disorder that varies in severity. The most common symptom is infrequent or prolonged menstrual periods, a result of hormonal imbalances.

Most people know that coronary heart disease is firmly linked to five basic risk factors: high cholesterol, high blood pressure, obesity, diabetes, and smoking.

But heart disease is a threat to practically everyone, not just hefty couch potatoes who smoke.

As scientists delve deeper into what causes and contributes to unhealthy hearts, they are finding an increasingly complex disease process. Inflammation, infection, and immune dysfunction are key players in the clogging, narrowing, and "hardening" of arteries that can lead to a complete cutoff of blood flow - a heart attack.

Researchers are also identifying a seemingly endless list of potentially dangerous habits. Last year, for example, a University of Miami study that followed 2,500 New Yorkers for nine years found that people who drank diet soda every day had a 61 percent higher risk of heart attacks and stroke than those who avoided the drinks - even after the researchers adjusted for age, smoking, exercise, and daily calories.

Critics quickly noted that the study could not say whether the diet-soda drinkers were downing Big Macs, fries, and other foods that might be the real villains.

While many suspected risk factors remain controversial, some unusual suspects have amassed a convincing body of evidence. Among them:

Gum disease

If your gums aren't healthy - and about a quarter of Americans have some periodontal (gum) disease - then your heart may be suffering along with your teeth.

Large population studies have consistently found that people with gum disease are more likely to develop heart disease than those with healthy gums.

This link is not simple, since people who don't brush and floss tend to have other bad habits such as smoking and eating junk food.

But the link "definitely" makes biological sense, concluded leading gum-disease specialists and cardiologists in a joint 2009 statement.

Gum disease is a bacterial infection, and infection triggers inflammation. Chronic inflammation plays a role in the buildup of fatty plaques that cause atherosclerosis, or hardening of the arteries. What's more, people with gum disease have elevated levels of C-reactive protein (CRP), a marker of bodily inflammation that is a risk factor for cardiovascular disease.

The experts recommend that if you have gum disease and at least one other cardiac risk factor, such as high cholesterol, get a medical evaluation. And if you already know you have heart disease, talk to your dentist about whether your "oral hygiene" needs brushing up.

Immune problems

Chronic inflammation is also a hallmark of autoimmune diseases, in which infection-fighting cells attack the body's own tissues.

In recent years, scientists have clearly shown that two autoimmune disorders - rheumatoid arthritis and lupus - increase the risk of heart disease.

Of course, you can't simply eliminate these risk factors if you have them. What's more, corticosteroids commonly used to treat autoimmune disorders can increase blood pressure.

But you can control traditional heart disease factors such as smoking and weight. You can also be on guard for symptoms of heart trouble. In their new book, Heart 411, cardiologists Marc Gillinov and Steven Nissen describe a middle-age woman who attributed unfamiliar pain in her back and shoulder to her rheumatoid arthritis. She was shocked when she belatedly discovered she'd had a heart attack and needed a procedure to unblock an artery.

Sleep

Snoring can be even harder on the heart than on a marriage.

Snoring is now recognized as a classic symptom of sleep apnea - periods when breathing stops because relaxed throat muscles narrow or block the airway. These brief sleep interruptions are momentary cardiac mayhem, decreasing oxygen, increasing blood pressure, altering blood clotting and heartbeat. Over time, apnea increases the risk of hypertension, artery blockages, stroke, heart failure, irregular heartbeat, even sudden death.

Fortunately, awareness and treatment of apnea have grown. Unfortunately, most people don't know that almost any sleep disruption can be hard on the heart if it goes on indefinitely. Shift work, insomnia, frequent waking, or sleeping six hours a night or less can have harmful cardiovascular effects - not to mention make you tired and irritable.

The remedy, experts say, is as simple as it is difficult to achieve: Get about seven hours of sleep a night. (Go easy on the alcohol and caffeine near bedtime.)

Irregular periods

Polycystic ovary syndrome, which affects an estimated 10 percent of women, is a complex metabolic disorder that varies in severity. The most common symptom is infrequent or prolonged menstrual periods, a result of hormonal imbalances.

(CBS) - Last month we showed you a ridiculously cute video of a dormouse snoring. Well, it's time to get your adorable on with this follow-up of a - wait for it - snoring hummingbird! Check it out.

Seriously, did I call it? Are you not entertained? The video entitled "Sleeping hummingbird "snores" in Peru" was posted by YouTube user forrestertr7 who writes:

a female Amethyst-throated Sunangel (Heliangelus amethysticollis) sleeps in Peru

Breathing Pauses During Sleep Tied to Brain Lesions

Feb. 1, 2012 -- A common sleep disorder is associated with an increased risk of symptomless but serious strokes called ?silent strokes,? German researchers report.

Sleep apnea, a condition marked by periodic interruptions in breathing during sleep, has been linked to an increased risk of strokes. But there hasn't been much research exploring the relationship between sleep apnea and silent strokes, says researcher Jessica Kepplinger, MD, of Dresden University Stroke Center at the University of Technology in Dresden, Germany.

So, Kepplinger and colleagues studied 56 men and women, aged 44 to 75 years, who?d had a stroke or mini-stroke known as a transient ischemic attack. All were given a screening tool that picks up changes in breathing during sleep.

Ninety-one percent periodically stopped breathing while they slept.

Then the men and women underwent brain imaging scans. Just over half had little areas of tissue death in the brain that had occurred in the past without a history of corresponding stroke symptoms -- evidence, Kepplinger tells WebMD, of silent stroke.

The more times a person stopped breathing during the night, the greater the likelihood of silent stroke, she says.

There was no comparison group, so researchers don't know how many people of the same ages and health status who don't have sleep apnea have had silent strokes.

Link Between Breathing and Stroke

MRI brain imaging studies suggest about 20% to 25% of people over age 60 have had a silent stroke, according to Harvard Medical School neurologist Steven Greenberg, MD, PhD. They have been linked to memory loss in some people, he says.

The study offers "good evidence linking" sleep apnea to silent stroke, Greenberg tells WebMD. But this is just an observation of an association between the two that needs further study, he says.

Greenberg moderated a news briefing to discuss the findings at the American Stroke Association's International Stroke Conference.

The study is small and preliminary. But it poses a number of questions that deserve further research, says Harvard neurologist Lee Schwamm, MD.

"I think what we can say is that breathing problems are more common in stroke patients than suspected," he tells WebMD.

"But is abnormal breathing during sleep a long-term problem in these patients? Or will it go away? And is abnormal breathing a risk factor that leads to stroke? Or is it a consequence of stroke?" Schwamm asks.

Kepplinger plans further study. In the meantime, she says, all stroke patients should be screened for sleep apnea. 

These findings were presented at a medical conference. They should be considered preliminary as they have not yet undergone the "peer review" process, in which outside experts scrutinize the data prior to publication in a medical journal.

What is sleep apnea?

When a person sleeps, the throat muscles relax. This leads to narrowing of the throat, which for most people, is insignificant. For people with sleep apnea, however, the narrowing is so great that breathing becomes difficult, as if breathing through a floppy, wet straw. The brain senses that breathing is difficult and briefly awakens in order to stiffen and open the throat. This process can happen dozens to hundreds of times each night, but most of the awakenings are so brief that they are not remembered.

People with sleep apnea usually don't sleep soundly, may snore loudly, and may suffer from daytime sleepiness that affects their work and/or social life. Sleep apnea also puts them at risk for high blood pressure, heart failure, heart attack, stroke or depression.

Could you have sleep apnea?

Here are a few questions that may help you decide:

» Do you often feel tired when awakening from sleep?

» Do you snore loudly, or has anyone told you that you snore?

» Has anyone told you that you stop breathing when you sleep?

» Are you awakened by choking or gasping sensations?

If you answered "yes" to two or more of these questions, please consider seeing your physician for further evaluation of your symptoms and to determine if a referral for a sleep study is appropriate.

Located in Riverview's patient tower, the two Riverview Sleep Lab rooms are homey and comfortable, like hotel rooms. The technical equipment and technicians are in a separate room.

During a sleep study, the activities that go on in your body during sleep (brain waves, muscle movements, eye movements, breathing through your mouth and nose, snoring, heart rate and leg movements) are monitored by small disks called electrodes applied to your head and skin with an adhesive. Flexible elastic belts around your chest and abdomen measure your breathing.

Your heart rate and the level of oxygen in your blood are monitored by a clip on your index finger. Your sleep is also videotaped for review of any abnormalities observed during the study. None of these devices are painful, and most people do not find them uncomfortable or an obstacle to falling asleep. Although you may not sleep exactly like you do at home, this usually does not interfere with obtaining the necessary information from your study.

Following your night in the Riverview Sleep Lab, your sleep study will be reviewed by Dr. James Cygan, a pulmonologist with Aspirus Regional Sleep Disorders Center and a diplomate of the American Board of Sleep Medicine. Cygan will then provide treatment recommendations to your physician.

Since opening in 2005, the Riverview Sleep Lab has performed more than 1,100 studies to help people sleep more safely and soundly. To find out more about testing for sleep apnea or other sleep conditions at the Riverview Sleep Lab, please call us at 715-421-7575.

Jay Prochnow is director of cardiopulmonary services for Riverview Medical Center.

Most people know that coronary heart disease is firmly linked to five basic risk factors: high cholesterol, high blood pressure, obesity, diabetes, and smoking.

But heart disease is a threat to practically everyone, not just hefty couch potatoes who smoke.

As scientists delve deeper into what causes and contributes to unhealthy hearts, they are finding an increasingly complex disease process. Inflammation, infection, and immune dysfunction are key players in the clogging, narrowing, and "hardening" of arteries that can lead to a complete cutoff of blood flow - a heart attack.

Researchers are also identifying a seemingly endless list of potentially dangerous habits. Last year, for example, a University of Miami study that followed 2,500 New Yorkers for nine years found that people who drank diet soda every day had a 61 percent higher risk of heart attacks and stroke than those who avoided the drinks - even after the researchers adjusted for age, smoking, exercise, and daily calories.

Critics quickly noted that the study could not say whether the diet-soda drinkers were downing Big Macs, fries, and other foods that might be the real villains.

While many suspected risk factors remain controversial, some unusual suspects have amassed a convincing body of evidence. Among them:

Gum disease

If your gums aren't healthy - and about a quarter of Americans have some periodontal (gum) disease - then your heart may be suffering along with your teeth.

Large population studies have consistently found that people with gum disease are more likely to develop heart disease than those with healthy gums.

This link is not simple, since people who don't brush and floss tend to have other bad habits such as smoking and eating junk food.

But the link "definitely" makes biological sense, concluded leading gum-disease specialists and cardiologists in a joint 2009 statement.

Gum disease is a bacterial infection, and infection triggers inflammation. Chronic inflammation plays a role in the buildup of fatty plaques that cause atherosclerosis, or hardening of the arteries. What's more, people with gum disease have elevated levels of C-reactive protein (CRP), a marker of bodily inflammation that is a risk factor for cardiovascular disease.

The experts recommend that if you have gum disease and at least one other cardiac risk factor, such as high cholesterol, get a medical evaluation. And if you already know you have heart disease, talk to your dentist about whether your "oral hygiene" needs brushing up.

Immune problems

Chronic inflammation is also a hallmark of autoimmune diseases, in which infection-fighting cells attack the body's own tissues.

In recent years, scientists have clearly shown that two autoimmune disorders - rheumatoid arthritis and lupus - increase the risk of heart disease.

Of course, you can't simply eliminate these risk factors if you have them. What's more, corticosteroids commonly used to treat autoimmune disorders can increase blood pressure.

But you can control traditional heart disease factors such as smoking and weight. You can also be on guard for symptoms of heart trouble. In their new book, Heart 411, cardiologists Marc Gillinov and Steven Nissen describe a middle-age woman who attributed unfamiliar pain in her back and shoulder to her rheumatoid arthritis. She was shocked when she belatedly discovered she'd had a heart attack and needed a procedure to unblock an artery.

Sleep

Snoring can be even harder on the heart than on a marriage.

Snoring is now recognized as a classic symptom of sleep apnea - periods when breathing stops because relaxed throat muscles narrow or block the airway. These brief sleep interruptions are momentary cardiac mayhem, decreasing oxygen, increasing blood pressure, altering blood clotting and heartbeat. Over time, apnea increases the risk of hypertension, artery blockages, stroke, heart failure, irregular heartbeat, even sudden death.

Fortunately, awareness and treatment of apnea have grown. Unfortunately, most people don't know that almost any sleep disruption can be hard on the heart if it goes on indefinitely. Shift work, insomnia, frequent waking, or sleeping six hours a night or less can have harmful cardiovascular effects - not to mention make you tired and irritable.

The remedy, experts say, is as simple as it is difficult to achieve: Get about seven hours of sleep a night. (Go easy on the alcohol and caffeine near bedtime.)

Irregular periods

Polycystic ovary syndrome, which affects an estimated 10 percent of women, is a complex metabolic disorder that varies in severity. The most common symptom is infrequent or prolonged menstrual periods, a result of hormonal imbalances.

Breathing Pauses During Sleep Tied to Brain Lesions

Feb. 1, 2012 -- A common sleep disorder is associated with an increased risk of symptomless but serious strokes called ?silent strokes,? German researchers report.

Sleep apnea, a condition marked by periodic interruptions in breathing during sleep, has been linked to an increased risk of strokes. But there hasn't been much research exploring the relationship between sleep apnea and silent strokes, says researcher Jessica Kepplinger, MD, of Dresden University Stroke Center at the University of Technology in Dresden, Germany.

So, Kepplinger and colleagues studied 56 men and women, aged 44 to 75 years, who?d had a stroke or mini-stroke known as a transient ischemic attack. All were given a screening tool that picks up changes in breathing during sleep.

Ninety-one percent periodically stopped breathing while they slept.

Then the men and women underwent brain imaging scans. Just over half had little areas of tissue death in the brain that had occurred in the past without a history of corresponding stroke symptoms -- evidence, Kepplinger tells WebMD, of silent stroke.

The more times a person stopped breathing during the night, the greater the likelihood of silent stroke, she says.

There was no comparison group, so researchers don't know how many people of the same ages and health status who don't have sleep apnea have had silent strokes.

Link Between Breathing and Stroke

MRI brain imaging studies suggest about 20% to 25% of people over age 60 have had a silent stroke, according to Harvard Medical School neurologist Steven Greenberg, MD, PhD. They have been linked to memory loss in some people, he says.

The study offers "good evidence linking" sleep apnea to silent stroke, Greenberg tells WebMD. But this is just an observation of an association between the two that needs further study, he says.

Greenberg moderated a news briefing to discuss the findings at the American Stroke Association's International Stroke Conference.

The study is small and preliminary. But it poses a number of questions that deserve further research, says Harvard neurologist Lee Schwamm, MD.

"I think what we can say is that breathing problems are more common in stroke patients than suspected," he tells WebMD.

"But is abnormal breathing during sleep a long-term problem in these patients? Or will it go away? And is abnormal breathing a risk factor that leads to stroke? Or is it a consequence of stroke?" Schwamm asks.

Kepplinger plans further study. In the meantime, she says, all stroke patients should be screened for sleep apnea. 

These findings were presented at a medical conference. They should be considered preliminary as they have not yet undergone the "peer review" process, in which outside experts scrutinize the data prior to publication in a medical journal.

New iPhone app takes an innovative "fight fire with fire" approach to helping people sleep despite snoring and other sleep-inhibiting noises.

West Bend, WI (PRWEB) February 23, 2012

Ignore The Snore is a remarkable new mobile application available on the App Store right now for only $1.99.

Ignore The Snore fights fire with fire via "snore mask" technology. This technology uses steady snore samples to mask the rising and falling sporadic snoring that keeps would-be sleepers up at night.

Ignore The Snore isn't just for masking snoring - it can also be used as a traditional white noise device to block out other disturbing noises.

Since no two sleepers or snorers are the same, users can choose from various steady snore samples, ambient sounds, or a personalized mix. Mixes allow for individual volume settings for each sound.

Ignore The Snore can be used via the built in speaker, a docking device, or with earbuds.

Ignore the Snore aims to bring welcome respite to the millions affected by snoring sleepmates, and to return banished snorers to their own beds.

Ignore The Snore was conceived and developed by BluGap Technology and Marketing, a Wisconsin based software and social media marketing firm.

More information on Ignore The Snore can be found at http://ignorethesnore.com and at the firm's website at blugap.com

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For the original version on PRWeb visit: www.prweb.com/releases/prwebsnoring-app/partner-snore/prweb9220375.htm