Dr. Stephen Page presented a lecture/discussion on Sleep Apnea entitled, “Breathe, Sleep, Live” to a group at Bentley Village. Dr. Page provided a better understanding of the underlying effects of interrupted sleep and the effects on a patient’s general health. When left untreated, sleep apnea can increase a patient’s risk for:
- High blood pressure
- Heart Attack
- Stroke
- GERD
- Obesity
- Excessive daytime sleepiness
During the discussion, a lady brought to our attention that the way she had discovered her Sleep Apnea issues was after crashing her car into a palm tree in the middle of the day. She was injured significantly and has recovered very well. Dr. Page inquired as to if the lady had been feeling tired or unusually sleepy during the day. She stated, “No, I was very busy in life, running a board and very involved in day to day life”. She said that she had no idea that she could just fall asleep while driving.
After her accident, she had a sleep study done. This revealed that she had Severe Sleep Apnea and her oxygen level was dropping to extremely low levels that would be consistent to her falling asleep at random times. This is one of the deceptive aspects of chronic Sleep Apnea. You do not see it coming. The collateral side effects will creep into your day to day life and the consequences can be very compromising.
Dr. Stephen Page’s next lecture on Sleep Apnea will be presented at Aston Gardens on April 22,2012
