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CNN Live Today

'Daily Dose'

Aired May 07, 2003 - 11:37   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: A study shedding new light on a sleep disorder that affects millions of Americans. It also examines the risk factors developing in sleep apnea.
Elizabeth Cohen, waking up bright and early, to tell us more about that.

Good morning.

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: That's right. You know, Daryn, a lot of people have sleep apnea, and they don't even know it. It's thought that as many as 18 million Americans actually have sleep apnea. Sleep apnea is when people actually stop breathing for very short periods of time. Sometimes they wake up and realize it. Sometimes they don't, but they sort of unconsciously, obviously, start to breathe again.

When they've looked at people, when they put people in a sleep lab and hook them up and study them, what they have found is that some people have as many as 60 sleep apneas in one hour if you can imagine that. So, again, some people have described it as a feeling that they need to gasp for breath, that they're having a tough time breathing.

What this study did, it was a study out of Cleveland that looks at 1,000 adults who didn't have sleep apnea, who were perfectly fine, and they followed them for five years, and what they found is that during that five-year period, about one out of four of them developed sleep apnea, and again, these were people who were perfectly fine to begin with, and what they also found is certain people are more likely than others to actually get sleep apnea. For example, men are more likely, older people. You don't have to be really old, every 10 years, the risk ratchets goes up. Also overweight people, and also those with a high waste to hip ratio. High waist to hip ratio is a fancy way of saying pot belly. People who pot bellies were more likely to have sleep apnea.

KAGAN: And this tends to go with snoring as well. Let's call it what it is. But there's more to it than being tired.

COHEN: That's right. People who have sleep apnea, obviously, are more tired later because they haven't had very high-quality sleep. And in fact, it leads to depression and irritability, but it's also a lot more dangerous. It can also lead to heart attacks. It can also lead to stroke. It can lead to impotency. It can lead to high blood pressure, all sorts of problems, so it's definitely something to get checked out.

KAGAN: Right, and something that you would want to fix. What kind of help is out there?

COHEN: Well, there are a variety of things that doctors can do. What some people have found is they've gotten help from a mask, and it's kind of a scary looking contraption, but some people have found that it actually works well. What it does is the pressure forces air through people's nose. I know it seems, how in the world could you sleep with that. But I know some people who've worn them, and they say that you actually do get used to it over time.

There are also several different forms of surgery that doctors can do. Some people have polyps in the nose, and that's the cause; they can take them out. There are certain amount of dental devices that sometimes help, that reposition the jaw. So there are a variety of things that doctors can do.

KAGAN: But the best thing is to go to the doctor and see what is out there, get a good night's sleep.

COHEN: Get a checkup. And as you might expect, it's the person who's sleeping with you who often tells you, hey, buddy, you need to check this out.

KAGAN: That's Very good, Elizabeth Cohen, thank you so much.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com






Aired May 7, 2003 - 11:37   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: A study shedding new light on a sleep disorder that affects millions of Americans. It also examines the risk factors developing in sleep apnea.
Elizabeth Cohen, waking up bright and early, to tell us more about that.

Good morning.

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: That's right. You know, Daryn, a lot of people have sleep apnea, and they don't even know it. It's thought that as many as 18 million Americans actually have sleep apnea. Sleep apnea is when people actually stop breathing for very short periods of time. Sometimes they wake up and realize it. Sometimes they don't, but they sort of unconsciously, obviously, start to breathe again.

When they've looked at people, when they put people in a sleep lab and hook them up and study them, what they have found is that some people have as many as 60 sleep apneas in one hour if you can imagine that. So, again, some people have described it as a feeling that they need to gasp for breath, that they're having a tough time breathing.

What this study did, it was a study out of Cleveland that looks at 1,000 adults who didn't have sleep apnea, who were perfectly fine, and they followed them for five years, and what they found is that during that five-year period, about one out of four of them developed sleep apnea, and again, these were people who were perfectly fine to begin with, and what they also found is certain people are more likely than others to actually get sleep apnea. For example, men are more likely, older people. You don't have to be really old, every 10 years, the risk ratchets goes up. Also overweight people, and also those with a high waste to hip ratio. High waist to hip ratio is a fancy way of saying pot belly. People who pot bellies were more likely to have sleep apnea.

KAGAN: And this tends to go with snoring as well. Let's call it what it is. But there's more to it than being tired.

COHEN: That's right. People who have sleep apnea, obviously, are more tired later because they haven't had very high-quality sleep. And in fact, it leads to depression and irritability, but it's also a lot more dangerous. It can also lead to heart attacks. It can also lead to stroke. It can lead to impotency. It can lead to high blood pressure, all sorts of problems, so it's definitely something to get checked out.

KAGAN: Right, and something that you would want to fix. What kind of help is out there?

COHEN: Well, there are a variety of things that doctors can do. What some people have found is they've gotten help from a mask, and it's kind of a scary looking contraption, but some people have found that it actually works well. What it does is the pressure forces air through people's nose. I know it seems, how in the world could you sleep with that. But I know some people who've worn them, and they say that you actually do get used to it over time.

There are also several different forms of surgery that doctors can do. Some people have polyps in the nose, and that's the cause; they can take them out. There are certain amount of dental devices that sometimes help, that reposition the jaw. So there are a variety of things that doctors can do.

KAGAN: But the best thing is to go to the doctor and see what is out there, get a good night's sleep.

COHEN: Get a checkup. And as you might expect, it's the person who's sleeping with you who often tells you, hey, buddy, you need to check this out.

KAGAN: That's Very good, Elizabeth Cohen, thank you so much.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com