26-year Old Man Dies During Sleep Study

[Autopapdude]

This isn't a headline. It is a topic. If you want to talk semantics (is that a big enough word for you?), be my guest.

If you don't like the topic of a thread, simply don't click on it. Insulting people who are curious about this topic is NOT acceptable. Rooster was trying to post the facts of the matter as they became available. The fact of the matter IS that OSA does KILL people. Mostly indirectly, by means of metabolic syndrome or stress on the heart, but sometimes directly as may be the case here. The reason we are here on this board is because we are all intereted in how OSA affects others and to get tips and support. A topic like this reminds us that we need to take our treatment SERIOUSLY. Maybe it is a morbid curiousity. Maybe we are all counting our blessings that WE weren't the ones who died in that hospital. Maybe we believe that something like this SHOULDN'T HAPPEN TO ANYONE.

If you want to talk about stuff we all learned in school, how about the golden rule? I think I learned that in kindergarten. Treat others as you would like to be treated. That means, if you don't have anything nice to say, STOP TYPING.

_

Who died, and made you queen of appropriateness on this board? I felt the "Newspaper headline" style of journalism was likely to induce fear and possibly panic among individuals who are inexperienced in the area of sleep disorders. This isn't a "golden rule" issue--it is one of posting "jingo journalism" articles, and passing them off as information, so as to get attention. if you don't see it that way, perhaps you should not read or post in this venue. End of story.

[roster]

And let me say up front, I'm jest spekulating, but here goes.

Maybe Brandon Harris always slept on his side or tummy due to his sleep apnea? And maybe the lab, following standard procedure, required him to sleep on his back? And maybe the higher severity of his apnea in the lab triggered a deadly event of an unknown type?

[roster]

..... if you don't see it that way, perhaps you should not read or post in this venue. End of story.

Come on now A-Dude. You are becoming an embarrassment to the local Mensa club. (And don't shoot back at me. I've been embarrassing them for sixty years.)

[roster]

Bye.

[Autopapdude]

And let me say up front, I'm jest spekulating, but here goes.

Maybe Brandon Harris always slept on his side or tummy due to his sleep apnea? And maybe the lab, following standard procedure, required him to sleep on his back? And maybe the higher severity of his apnea in the lab triggered a deadly event of an unknown type?

I acknowledge that your "spekulating" is possible. He could have been in an excessively vulnerable position (e.g. on his back) and had an excessive number of apneas induced suddenly. Is that within the realm of possibility scientifically? Of course. It is probably more likely that he died of a collection of serious disorders or an embolism as previously stated. Is it all related to OSA, and severe physical trauma induced by same? YES, most likely. So, could the whole thing be a preventable tragedy if his apnea had been discovered earlier, and in a timely manner. Yes, of course.

I have only been embarrassing the local Mensa club for 51 years, so you have a leg up on me. (handshake)

[socknitster]

Take a peak under my profile pic and you will see I have been here a long time, dude. Not likely to go anywhere soon. Especially not at your suggestion.

Regarding the young man and the sleep study in question. I don't see how a severe apnea event or heart attack could explain the blood that was mentioned. My first thought after reading his mother's description of him was that maybe someone who didn't like him very much followed him and decided to hurt him while he was vulnerable. That would have been on the tape, though and would have resulted in some kind of criminal investigation.

It seems possible that in her grief she exaggerated some about what she saw at the scene. It could be that he hurt himself as he was panicking and trying to free himself of the wires. I remember the sensors that went up my nose were just bare wires. They could possibly scrape the skin if pulled off in a panic.

The bottom line is that clearly no one responded fast enough. A man this young who walked in under his own steam should have been revive-able, even with a relatively serious cardiac event if it was attended to appropriatly. Even if he had other health problems. Diabetes, if under control of medications, does not kill "overnight." He was in a HOSPITAL, for goodness sake! The place you should be the safest in this situation.

There needs to be a national standard of care in a sleep facility. There needs to be people available who are trained to deal with these kinds of events. Period. Anything less is unacceptable. I know for a fact that a lot of people go for sleep studies because their cardiologists send them. These people are already vulnerable because of their condition--add the stress of being in a medical facility, hooked up to wires, asked to sleep in the position you don't normally sleep in etc etc. It could be the perfect storm for heart trouble.

When my 6 year old had his sleep study, they had a heart monitor set up that beeped with every heart beat. I remember being annoyed that they didn't turn it off and we had to listen to it all night. I remember a few times it went silent for a few moments and I was laying there freaking out wondering if my son was bradycardic or worse. Shortly after the technician came in the room to adjust something on my son and I asked him about it. He said not to worry, the child had loosened the sensor and it wasn't catching every beat. He said if Harry had truly been skipping that many beats, half the hospital would have been in his room by now. That was very reassuring!

BTW, my son didn't seem to mind the beeping. It drove me bonkers however. I was "sleeping" in a recliner next to his bed. I complained about it later. Just didn't seem necessary.

Anyway, I wish all the facts would just come out regarding this death. It just stinks of a cover up to me. As someone else said, we need 100% transparancy in cases like this.

As I was typing, I was thinking in the Queen's English. No colloquialism for me. Just because this is the internet and an informal forum, doesn't mean we shouldn't always be proper. Pip pip and Cheerie-O. Mary Poppins and all that, you know.

[Muse-Inc]

Reported tonight: sudden cardiac death. http://www.americanheart.org/presenter. ... ifier=4741
With a lawsuit filed, Emory will not comment so it remains to be seen if he did receive the sort of prompt care that one would expect for us hoseheads with our markedly increased risk for CV events.

[Autopapdude]

Regarding the young man and the sleep study in question. I don't see how a severe apnea event or heart attack could explain the blood that was mentioned. My first thought after reading his mother's description of him was that maybe someone who didn't like him very much followed him and decided to hurt him while he was vulnerable. That would have been on the tape, though and would have resulted in some kind of criminal investigation.

It seems possible that in her grief she exaggerated some about what she saw at the scene. It could be that he hurt himself as he was panicking and trying to free himself of the wires. I remember the sensors that went up my nose were just bare wires. They could possibly scrape the skin if pulled off in a panic.

The bottom line is that clearly no one responded fast enough. A man this young who walked in under his own steam should have been revive-able, even with a relatively serious cardiac event if it was attended to appropriatly. Even if he had other health problems. Diabetes, if under control of medications, does not kill "overnight." He was in a HOSPITAL, for goodness sake! The place you should be the safest in this situation.

There needs to be a national standard of care in a sleep facility. There needs to be people available who are trained to deal with these kinds of events. Period. Anything less is unacceptable. I know for a fact that a lot of people go for sleep studies because their cardiologists send them. These people are already vulnerable because of their condition--add the stress of being in a medical facility, hooked up to wires, asked to sleep in the position you don't normally sleep in etc etc. It could be the perfect storm for heart trouble.

When my 6 year old had his sleep study, they had a heart monitor set up that beeped with every heart beat. I remember being annoyed that they didn't turn it off and we had to listen to it all night. I remember a few times it went silent for a few moments and I was laying there freaking out wondering if my son was bradycardic or worse. Shortly after the technician came in the room to adjust something on my son and I asked him about it. He said not to worry, the child had loosened the sensor and it wasn't catching every beat. He said if Harry had truly been skipping that many beats, half the hospital would have been in his room by now. That was very reassuring!

BTW, my son didn't seem to mind the beeping. It drove me bonkers however. I was "sleeping" in a recliner next to his bed. I complained about it later. Just didn't seem necessary.

Anyway, I wish all the facts would just come out regarding this death. It just stinks of a cover up to me. As someone else said, we need 100% transparancy in cases like this.

Short version. I agree completely. This entire sad event was mismanaged on a tragic level. You're absolutely right--he was in a hospital, and whatever the cause, they should have responded in a timely manner. WE AGREE!

[socknitster]

Bradycardia was listed on my sleep study. I was 35 years old. Scary stuff. I didn't know that was a risk factor for sudden cardiac death. Geez. You gotta take this stuff seriously.

[JohnBFisher]

... I didn't know that was a risk factor for sudden cardiac death. Geez. You gotta take this stuff seriously. ...

This is EXACTLY why I suggest someone using an ASV unit, especially with known heart problems, avoid "tinkering" with the settings without their doctors awareness. Our breathing is tightly bound to our cardiac system.

[amos]

I do not wish to become a participant in the previous disagreements in this thread. I do believe that I can shed some clarity on the facilities at Emory Healthcare. The Sleep Center is physically located in one of the clinical building on the campus of Emory University and Emory Healthcare. The Sleep Center is not physically located inside the hospital itself. The only persons in this clinic overnight would be PSG techs and security. There are no MDs, RNs, LPNs, or CNAs in this building overnight. That is why an ambulance had to be called and the patient transported to the hospital which is about a mile away.

I do not know what training, if any, the PSG techs had in first aid or in reviving a patient in cardiac arrest.

amos

[roster]

I do not wish to become a participant in the previous disagreements in this thread.

I think we are all in violent agreement.

[montana user]

....I keep bumping into the HIPPA wall.

Care to expound on that?

Yeah due to HIPPA/Privacey act I have to jump through hoops to let just anyone come in and watch a sleep study. Which I do understand, I might not be eager to have some stranger watch me all night either. My girlfriend who does sleep studies at another lab had to get permission fromt the patient, our manager and sign a waiver. But I would like to find a way to open sleep stuidies to CPAP users who are interested in watching sleep study in progress.

[PST]

Bradycardia was listed on my sleep study. I was 35 years old. Scary stuff. I didn't know that was a risk factor for sudden cardiac death. Geez. You gotta take this stuff seriously.

Bradycardia isn't necessarily anything to worry about. A resting heart rate below 60 beats per minute is defined as bradycardia, and this is common in fit, athletic people. Endurance athletes often have resting heart rates that are ridiculously low, down in the 30s, and even some people who aren't exactly marathon champions dip below 60 if they have healthy, efficient hearts that can meet their bodies' resting oxygen needs when pumping at a slow rate.

[LinkC]

who insists at responding to everything I post.

Nope! Just the stuff that's egregiously inaccurate, like the above. There isn't enough time in the day to correct the mildly inaccurate.

("insists at" ??? And YOU feel qualified to give grammar lessons? )

Linkovitch Chermofsky

Fifty-one is a bit old for playground taunts, isn't it? Do you REALLY think such childishness bolsters your credibility?