A wakeup call for staying healthy
Through the New Sleep Clinic, Dr. Mary Valiulis, board certi ed in both psychiatry and sleep medicine, focuses on the diagnosis and treatment of obstructive sleep apnea.
Valiulis owns a private practice psychiatry of ce on Fern Avenue not far from her New Sleep Clinic facility located at the Healthplex Family Clinic. Valiulis received her medical doctorate and completed her residency in psychiatry at LSU Health Sciences Center where she served as chief resident.
As a leader in the eld of sleep medicine, she focuses on obstructive sleep apnea. This condition is an often caused by a blockage to airways that can disrupt breathing during sleep. OSA can leave you feeling tired in the morning due to some degree of sleep deprivation. OSA is a serious medical problem for a large populace that goes too often undiagnosed.
“[OSA] is a medical condition in which breathing while sleeping repeatedly starts and stops due to the throat relaxing and obstructing the central airway,” Valiulis said.
“Among the associated risks with OSA, are diabetes, heart conditions, dif culty with weight management and depression.
Sleep apnea that is left untreated leaves the patient with twice the risk of suffering a stroke, ve times the risk of having a fatal heart attack and six times the risk of becoming involved in a serious traf c accident,” Valiulis said.
Valiulis regularly conducts sleep studies both in lab settings or at a patients home.
Today, home studies are just as effective as lab studies for patients at risk. “I am also getting excellent results with the new Embletta Gold a portable testing device that the patient can actually take home and use at their convenience. The machine collects data which I can analyze when the machine is returned to the of ce,” Valiulis said.
In lab settings, the continuous positive airway pressure or bilevel positive airway pressure machine is a successful tool for treating OSA. The machine uses a mask to help control the amount of oxygen and airway pressure a patient receives during sleep in order to reduce the number of apnea episodes.
A newer option is the system from Apnicure, Winx that does not require the wearing of a mask.
As being too heavy can be contributory to OSA, Valiulis can often combine her practice of psychiatry with sleep medicine by addressing the underlying causes of the growing pattern of obesity in the general population.
If you feel you are at risk of OSA, please go to valiulis.com or call Valiulis’ of ce at 683-5171.
– Karl Hasten
