He went to his primary care physician, who recommended a sleep test.
Sleep Studies Can Pinpoint Problems
During a sleep test, you spend a night in a private bedroom at a sleep lab. A sleep technician applies sensors to your skin that track activity in your heart, lungs, brain, and other areas while you sleep. A video camera records your movement, and a technician observes from another room.
Doctors refer patients to sleep labs when they're concerned the patient may have a sleep disorder, explains Jeffrey Miskoff, D.O., a pulmonologist and director of the SleepCare Center at Ocean Medical Center. Experts at the SleepCare Center diagnose and treat conditions including insomnia, narcolepsy, restless legs syndrome — and obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), which is what William was diagnosed with.
A Common and Serious Condition
Left untreated, OSA can increase your risk for heart attack and stroke, as well as affect your work performance and personal relationships.
With OSA, you stop breathing — sometimes for 10 to 20 seconds or more at a time. This can occur dozens of times per hour. Patients with OSA often feel excessively tired during the day and may doze off at inappropriate times, as William did. "It's the most common sleep disorder we see," says Dr. Miskoff.
Treating Sleep Disorders Successfully
William, now 70, recently underwent another nighttime study at Ocean's SleepCare Center.
"We recommend patients have a follow-up sleep test from time to time, especially if they experience changes with their health," says Ocean pulmonologist Eric Costanzo, D.O., whom William has seen since 2009. "William had had valve replacement surgery on his heart and his body mass index had increased since his first sleep test, so we wanted a more current one."
A follow-up test can help make sure a treatment method is still working. William had been using a continuous positive airway pressure, or CPAP, machine, which helps keep the airways open during sleep.
Following the study, Dr. Costanzo gave William a prescription for a newer machine that turns on automatically and comes with a tiny card that monitors how often William uses the machine. This information can be downloaded for his doctor to see.
"I used to have to wake him up because he would stop breathing," says William's wife, Theresa. "Since getting treated for his sleep disorder, we both sleep in peace now."
About the Doctors
Eric Costanzo, D.O.
Board certified in Internal Medicine and Pulmonology
Ocean | 732-775-9075
Jeffrey A. Miskoff, D.O.
Board certified in Internal Medicine, Sleep Medicine, Critical Care Medicine, and Pulmonology
Brick | 732-575-1100
