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   Sleep Apnea Kills After Midnight

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Topic: Sleep Apnea Kills After Midnight (Read 155 times)

lakelady
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Sleep Apnea Kills After Midnight
« on: Apr 6^th, 2005, 11:20am »

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Sleep Apnea Kills After Midnight, Study Finds

BOSTON (Reuters) - Patients with sleep apnea are more likely to die from heart attacks at night, while sleeping, than in the day, which is the time when everyone else is most vulnerable, U.S. researchers reported on Wednesday.

Most heart attacks take place between dawn and noon in the United States but sleep apnea -- marked by a tendency to snore, stop breathing and then startle awake -- changes this pattern, the researchers found.

What is still not clear is how much sleep apnea raises the risk of premature death overall, the researchers wrote in this week's issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.

"Our study cannot address the question of whether obstructive sleep apnea increases the overall risk of sudden death from cardiac causes," Dr. Virend Somers of the Mayo Clinic College of Medicine in Rochester, Minnesota and colleagues wrote.

As many as one in four Americans suffer from some degree of apnea, where the throat repeatedly closes during sleep, causing breathing to stop for 10 to 30 seconds during sleep and oxygen levels to fall dramatically.

The condition, more common in men and the obese, causes stress on the heart and makes people tired during the day.

The study of 112 Minnesota residents with diagnosed sleep apnea who died suddenly from cardiac causes found they were far more likely to die between midnight and 6 a.m..

More than half died between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. -- usually the time when people are the least likely to die of heart problems.

However, apnea sufferers were only half as likely to suffer a fatal heart attack between 6 a.m. and noon, the time when everyone else is most vulnerable.

And from noon to 6 p.m., the risk of sudden death from heart attack was only 30 percent of what it was for people without apnea.

"We didn't show that sleep apnea increases the risk of sudden death at all. It changes the time," Somers, a cardiologist, said in a telephone interview.

A much larger study of about 12,000 people now underway may reveal if death is more common among apnea sufferers. "In 18 months or so we should have an answer," he said.

The new study raises several questions.

Many of the people with apnea had been given machines that use air forced through a face mask to keep the throat open. Although the death rate was higher during sleep, that does not mean the machines were not effective, Somers said.

The researchers had no way of knowing how many patients were actually using the devices, especially on the morning they died.

Generally, two in five patients don't use their machines regularly, he said.

People may say they want to die in their sleep, Somers said, "but sleep is such a relatively passive state. If you go through all the stresses of daytime and you don't die, why should you die at all during sleep?"

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Colleen
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Re: Sleep Apnea Kills After Midnight
« Reply #1 on: Apr 6^th, 2005, 9:18pm »

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My b/f uses his mask each and every night. He woke up choking so bad when he didnt one night, that now he see's what can happen.

Sleep Apnea is such a serise condition. It has put such a strain on my life it's unreal. My b/f and I just went to the doctor today. It was depressing. B/f now has to get an oxygen meachine attached to his by-pap meachine. (its the size of a suit case) The cost is $300.00 a month. We are praying that my benifts are going to cover it. I was so upset. Then I told the doctor that I cant take my b/f no where. He fails a sleep where ever we go. He explained it like this. Tests were done on dogs. They forced sleep apnea on the dogs, and reshearch shows that sleep apnea can damage the Alert part of the brain, so even tho b/f is getting some sleep at night it is possible that his brain is damaged and that is why he has a hard time to be alert in the day time. So there is a solution, there are pills called "alertec", great news right. It is now possible to go out with my b/f during the day and ppl dont think he is drunk or stoned. We go to the drug store to get the pills and my drug plan wont cover the pills. I was like wow. So now the doctor is going to write a letter to stress the need for these pills to be covered. They are just to expenisive. Oh my, im really venting here. Sorry but things are hard. Sleep Apnea is stressful. Other then that, I agree that anyone who has sleep apnea and has a meachine, use it. I have see the result when it is not used, it is scary.

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Rhune
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Re: Sleep Apnea Kills After Midnight
« Reply #2 on: Apr 6^th, 2005, 9:39pm »

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My father had the surgery for this, which widens the throat area. He is so much happier and healthier now that he's had this done. I know surgery sounds scary, but it sounds like everything else is just as scary and at least with the surgery there is an end in sight. I would seriously consider looking into that option for him if it's available.

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luci
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Re: Sleep Apnea Kills After Midnight
« Reply #3 on: Apr 7^th, 2005, 8:08am »

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.....don't forget hearts attacks! This is why I take my heart meds that keep my heart in rhythm just before bedtime.

Neeloc, I do hope your b/f gets the help he needs, surgical or otherwize and is relieved of this soon. I'm sure you're frantic.

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Insane 4 Survivor
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Re: Sleep Apnea Kills After Midnight
« Reply #4 on: Apr 7^th, 2005, 8:56am »

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Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA) is indeed very dangerous. What some people doen't realize is that people suffering from OSA are often in auto accidents because they tend to fall asllep at the wheel because they are not getting any rest at night.

The most common sufferer is Male, over 30 years of age, large framed with a neck size of 16 or greater. Having a large neck is a huge issue because the trachea collapses at night blocking the airway. Sometimes the solution can be losing some weight if they have some to lose (some people just have large necks) but the most common is using a CPAP or BiPAP machine to keep the airway open when sleeping.

If your sleeping partner snores alot and is constantly tired, take them to the doctor. This condition is totally treatable and no one needs to suffer from it.

« Last Edit: Apr 7^th, 2005, 8:57am by Insane 4 Survivor »

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