...died in his/her sleep...

[Maxie]

Do you know of people who went to bed and "quietly" died in their sleep or maybe you know someone who knew someone who died in his her sleep? Now that I know more about sleep apnea I think that surely these deaths are sleep apnea related. I know of at least one person who woke up gasping for air and subsequently died and her cause of death was death from sleep apnea. She knew she had it but didn't think she could afford to have it treated. I've heard it said that no one actually dies from sleep apnea but I disagree. What are your thoughts on this? I realize it's a morbid subject but I've just been thinking about the people who "went to bed and didn't wake up." Rarely do I hear sleep apnea mentioned in connection with their deaths.

[LSAT]

Reggie White...Green Bay Packers...2004
http://www.medpagetoday.com/PrimaryCare ... orders/298

Others with OSA
http://www.sleepconnect.com/news-articl ... leep-apnea

[pap4life]

Yes, I have known people who have died, that had sleep apnea and did not use or refused to use a CPAP machine.

Normally the primary cause of death is heart failure. Apnea is secondary cause.

[greatunclebill]

I know of at least one person who woke up gasping for air and subsequently died and her cause of death was death from sleep apnea.

did you actually see this death certificate or just quoting what someone said. if it really was only airway related the cause of death would probably be suffocation. my infant sister died of sids 50 years ago, which at the time was called crib disease. i clearly remember the coroner saying crib disease and talking about sudden death. i ordered the death certificate out of curiosity and the cause of death is listed as suffocation.

[jnk]

Reggie White...Green Bay Packers...2004

Contrary to popular belief, OSA is listed third on the pathology section of his autopsy report, and NOT as cause of death:

http://www.autopsyfiles.org/reports/Cel ... report.pdf

Pros are unlikely to cite apnea as cause of death, since that would be saying that death was caused from a stoppage of breathing, which sounds just plain laughable, unless it was something like SIDS, as mentioned above, or else there was foul play.

To die from an OSA obstruction, something else needs to go wrong. For example, when the body throws panic juice [my term, not the technical one] at an apnea, it may end up stopping a weak heart, but the weak heart will be pointed to by the pros, and the apnea will be considered a portion of the problem, but not the ultimate cause, as I understand it, since a common OSA obstruction leaves no direct trace anywhere anyway.

Moderate-to-severe OSA, untreated, damages health cumulatively, whether it is commonly listed as cause of death or not. That is the important thing to understand, in my opinion, as a non-pro and patient.

[Wonderbeastlett]

I never really thought about it until I had a conversation with my grandma. She had just found out I was diagnosed and jokingly she said,"well most people pray to be taken in their sleep but were praying dear God let me live!"

Ive never heard of someones cause of death being strictly OSA. It lead to a number of dangerous diseases that can cause death. I always just figured your bodies natural response is to wake you up. The only way you wouldn't wake up is because of another condition stopping you.

[BlackSpinner]

To die from an OSA obstruction, something else needs to go wrong. For example, when the body throws panic juice [my term, not the technical one] at an apnea, it may end up stopping a weak heart, but the weak heart will be pointed to by the pros, and the apnea will be considered a portion of the problem, but not the ultimate cause, as I understand it, since a common OSA obstruction leaves no direct trace anywhere anyway.

Moderate-to-severe OSA, untreated, damages health, whether it is commonly listed as cause of death or not. That is the important thing to understand, in my opinion, as a non-pro patient.

Yes it is the smoking gun, however it was the bullet which did the damage. All death is ultimately due to heart failure - even if it is a bullet that tore it apart or a stroke due to lack of O2 which stopped to heart due to lack of brain signals.

[jnk]

Yes, when people die, their heart stops beating and they stop breathing.

That's why causes of death are worded carefully so as to be useful and informing, whenever possible, I believe.

[LSAT]

Reggie White Sleep Disorder Foundation
http://www.reggiewhitefoundation.org/about/default.asp

[GumbyCT]

I'm not sure what the comment is but maybe OSA does destroy communications skills?

Reggie White Sleep Disorder Foundation
http://www.reggiewhitefoundation.org/about/default.asp

[jnk]

The key words are "contributed to" or "was a factor in" or, as in LSAT's link, "played a role in" his death. I agree with all that, since the autopsy supports that.

As one news report explained: "Although sleep apnea was not the direct cause of death, it contributed to White's illness."

http://www.wcnc.com/news/Widow-of-NFL-l ... 38453.html

Sara White, his wife, herself, now says publicly: "No, sleep apnea will not kill you but it will affect other conditions in your body." (See news report and video at above link.)

Personally, I might not word it exactly that way, but those are her words now that she, too, has seen the autopsy report--as opposed to early on, when she was publicly guessing about the cause of death.

No biggie. I was just trying to make things a little more exact with respect to Reggie.

Verbal shorthand is common, so I don't generally correct people who say that 'sleep apnea can kill you in your sleep.'

In my opinion, though, that is most likely to happen the next day behind the wheel of a motor vehicle. That is the way OSA most often kills, in my opinion, and is a much more productive worry to let affect our actions.

[GumbyCT]

jokingly she said,"well most people pray to be taken in their sleep but were praying dear God let me live!"

Do you know of people who went to bed and "quietly" died in their sleep

Having had this dress rehearsal myself in 2003 I will say IF I have a choice this is the way I want to go.

I know a gentleman who recently passed after suffering a stroke 16 months ago he spent his time waiting on his back unable to communicate in a nursing home. I will say - That is worse than death by fire IMO.

In 2003, I went to sleep only to wake up 6 weeks later after having a ruptured brain aneurysm. I met the Grim Reaper, he doesn't want me either

I am resolutely certain that undiagnosed, untreated OSA was a contributing factor. NO doubt in my military mind.

It wasn't until 2007 when I was Dx'd with severe OSA. You (I) have to wonder why when they had me in NICU then ICU no one ever mentioned that I stopped breathing during my sleep. But they didn't.

Just because we go to sleep there is no guarantee we will wake up. Tomorrow is not promised to any of us.

[jnk]

Well said, Gumby.

Thanks for that.

Sobering words.

Brings it home.

And now, a few words from our friends at the AASM about one study:

A study in the August 1 [2008] issue of the journal Sleep shows that people with severe sleep apnea have a much higher mortality risk than people without sleep apnea, and this risk increases when sleep apnea is untreated.

Results show that people who have severe sleep apnea, which involves frequent breathing pauses during sleep, have three times the risk of dying due to any cause compared with people who do not have sleep apnea. This risk is represented by an adjusted hazard ratio of 3.2 after controlling for age, sex and body mass index. When 126 participants who reported regular use of continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) therapy were removed from the statistical analysis, the hazard ratio for all-cause mortality related to severe sleep apnea rose to 4.3. . . . About 42 percent of deaths in people with severe sleep apnea (5 of 12 deaths) were attributed to cardiovascular disease or stroke, compared with 26 percent of deaths in people with no sleep apnea (12 of 46 deaths). When the 126 participants who reported regular CPAP use were removed from the analysis, the hazard ratio for cardiovascular mortality soared from 2.9 to 5.2 for people with severe sleep apnea. The results suggest that regular CPAP use may protect sleep apnea patients against cardiovascular death.

. . . "I was surprised by how much the risks increased when we excluded people who reported treatment with CPAP,” Young [Terry Young, PhD, professor of epidemiology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison] said. “Our findings suggest - but cannot prove - that people diagnosed with sleep apnea should be treated, and if CPAP is the prescribed treatment, regular use may prevent premature death.”

Statistical adjustments show that high blood pressure, cardiovascular disease, stroke and diabetes may play a role in the association between sleep apnea and mortality, but the specific mechanisms by which sleep apnea contributes to mortality remain unclear.

http://www.aasmnet.org/articles.aspx?id=1014

Please note that the statistics are about those of us with severe sleep apnea, not all who are diagnosed with sleep apnea.

[MaxDarkside]

I died in a parking lot, it was WONDERFUL. The death-release of endorphins cannot be beat. PURE euphoria. I would not want to die in my sleep, it was that good (story in signature). I do believe that it was OSA related because as I got treatment my arrhythmias have slowly faded away and the "TIA" type disorientations that were rapidly becoming severe the 2-3 days before I got my machine immediately stopped once I got on the hose.

I suppose that if you were on the borderline and had a major desat during your sleep you could "go" that way, but much more likely from other causes that are in turn caused or worsened by OSA, such as in my case.

[GumbyCT]

I died in a parking lot, it was WONDERFUL. The death-release of endorphins cannot be beat. PURE euphoria.

I had a head on crash my motorcycle into a VW beetle. Your whole life flashes before your eyes in nano-seconds.

I was lucky...this was my 2nd on a motorcycle... not sure - yes I am sure. Don't wanna do that again.

Call me a sissy but sleep is the way home. Never do today what can be put of til tomorrow
IF I die in my sleep someone else will have to do it.