| Most weight loss patients suffer from sleep apnea |
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| Monday, 07 May 2007 | |
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While 19 percent of the patients had been diagnosed by their own doctor as suffering from sleep apnea prior to surgery, the Cleveland study revealed that actually 91 percent of the patients suffered from the condition. “It’s a medical disease that is really under-recognized,” said Dr. Peter Hallowell, a surgeon who specialises in bariatric surgery and joint leader of the study along with Dr. Thomas Stellato. “Hypertension is known as the silent killer and sleep apnea is the same exact thing,” he said. “People are going to work every day, getting sleepy during the day, getting sleepy behind the wheel and getting in accidents. There’s a certain public health concern with this.” Sleep apnea is a condition that causes a person's breathing to stop for up to 20 seconds as often as 30 times an hour while asleep. It is thought that the majority of sufferers are unaware of their condition, because the main symptom is tiredness during the day, which is frequently attributed to other factors. |
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