“I don’t know how I lived through it,” said “Andy,” who found himself asleep at the wheel of his pickup truck while driving on a highway one night.

Luckily, he woke up in time to avert an accident.

“Sleep disorders can sneak up on you,” says Justo Montalvo, M.D., a board-certified specialist in Pulmonary Medicine, Critical Care Medicine and Sleep Medicine at Kelsey-Seybold Clinic. “Patients sometimes don’t realize how harmful sleep deprivation can be.”

Andy had suffered for several years with sleep apnea without realizing it. He felt tired during the day and often fell asleep at his desk at work.

And there was that awful snoring.

“They told me I could be heard all through our three-bedroom house,” he said. “On a camping trip, I snored so loud my brother-in-law thought a bear had invaded our campsite. And he was sleeping 200 feet away!”

Andy wisely went to see Dr. Montalvo for a medical evaluation. His condition was diagnosed as obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), a common disorder that is caused by a blockage of the airway, usually when the soft tissue around the throat collapses and closes during sleep.

Lack of Oxygen Leads to Problems

“Sleep apnea is the repeated interruption of breathing during sleep that causes the individual to awaken many times and experience sleepiness during the day,” Dr. Justo Montalvo says. “It can lead to serious cardiovascular consequences.”

Sleep should be restful but apnea can make it laborious, Dr. Montalvo adds. Oxygen supply becomes limited, placing strain on the respiratory and cardiovascular system, the brain and other internal organs.

Recent studies have shown a correlation between sleep apnea and hypertension, diabetes, memory problems, headaches, weight gain and an increased risk of stroke.

Reggie White, a Hall of Fame professional football player, died at age 43 reportedly from sleep apnea related to heart arrhythmia.

Obese people are particularly susceptible. Fatty tissue is deposited around their necks, adversely affecting nighttime breathing. A recent study indicated that obstructive sleep apnea is increasing every year, probably because the population is becoming more obese. Up to 70 percent of obese patients have OSA.

“There are three preventable causes of sleep apnea: obesity, obesity and obesity,” Dr. Montalvo says.

Andy had been overweight his entire adult life and had become severely obese in middle-age when worst of his sleep apnea occurred. He felt exhausted all the time without knowing the cause.

Why?

“People often have no memory of sleep apnea, sleepwalking, sleep talking and other nighttime disorders,” Dr. Montalvo says.

Diagnosing and Treating Sleep Problems

In some cases, Dr. Montalvo has his patients check into a certified sleep laboratory for an overnight study.

“It’s much like a night in a hotel where the staff is committed to high-quality sleep medicine and the science that supports it,” Dr. Montalvo says.

Here, Dr. Montalvo and other American Academy of Sleep Medicine diplomats monitor and videotape the patient, evaluate and diagnose sleep problems, and consider the best treatment.

Once a diagnosis is confirmed, Dr. Montalvo may recommend sleeping with a continuous positive airway pressure device (CPAP).

Considered the most effective therapy for treating sleep apnea, CPAP is a combination mask and machine that creates a controlled, continuous airflow that holds the nose, palate and throat tissues open.

Teri Brillhart, pulmonary nursing supervisor, helps patients choose the most comfortable CPAP for their sleep apnea therapy.

The CPAP device isn’t big. It’s portable and easily carried about. If the patient is overweight, or obese, Dr. Montalvo will start them on a weight-loss program. And, if appropriate and safe for the patient, he will recommend an exercise routine.

Today, Andy enjoys seven to eight hours of uninterrupted sleep a night and feels more alert than ever.

“If there’s anyone out there with sleep apnea, I urge them to see a Kelsey-Seybold pulmonary specialist for treatment that should improve the quality of their lives,” Dr. Montalvo concludes.