Ralph Kilgore Jr. realized he was tired, but he never gave it a second thought.
Like many others, the North Apollo resident wrote it off to working long hours and a busy lifestyle.
He often would come home, sit down in a chair and fall asleep reading. Then one night, his wife, June, did the math.
Her husband's snoring was legendary in the household.
"Our daughter could hear him on the next floor," June says.
But what really concerned her was when he would stop breathing during the night.
"I would count up to 20 before he would take another breath. You worry, 'Is he going to breathe?'"
At that point, she would wake him up. Eventually, she told him, "I think there is something more to this. I think you should get it checked. I was very persistent."
Her husband agreed and went for testing at the Sleep Studies Laboratory at Allegheny Valley Hospital, Natrona Heights, Harrison.
"They found I had sleep apnea. You stop breathing during the night. I was doing it frequently and never knew it myself," says Kilgore, 47, a maintenance worker and lay minister. It was fortunate that he had a partner who noticed, he says.
Kilgore's situation is not uncommon, a fact that the hospital is emphasizing as the National Sleep Foundation's Sleep Awareness Week opens today.
The foundation (www.sleepfoundation.org) is the organizer and sponsor of the annual public education, information and awareness campaign that coincides with the return to daylight-saving time. That's when clocks "spring forward" at 2 a.m. on the first Sunday in April, and most Americans lose an hour of sleep.
It is an effort to make sleep consciousness a part of every American's health and safety plans. This year's theme is "Sleep: As Important as Diet and Exercise (Only Easier!)."
Alle-Kiski Medical Center will offer two free talks on sleep awareness, at 6 p.m. Tuesday and 8 a.m. Friday at Destination Wellness in Pittsburgh Mills mall, Frazer.
Sleep apnea is a common disorder that can be very serious. The most common type of sleep apnea is obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), caused by soft tissue in the rear of the throat collapsing during muscle relaxation. As happened with Kilgore, breathing stops or becomes very shallow while a person is sleeping. Each pause in breathing typically lasts 10 to 20 seconds or more.
These pauses can take place 20 to 30 times or more an hour.
During sleep, not enough air can flow into a person's lungs through his mouth and nose, even though he tries to breathe. When this happens, the amount of oxygen in the blood may drop. Normal breaths then start again with a loud snort or choking sound.
Untreated sleep apnea can increase the chance of having high blood pressure and even a heart attack or stroke. It also can increase the risk of diabetes and work-related and driving accidents.
Robert Butler, director of Allegheny Valley Hospital's sleep lab, said an estimated $70 billion is lost in the United States because of decreased productivity, wages and property damage due to sleeping problems.
He said the majority of patients (an estimated 80 percent to 90 percent) nationwide remain undiagnosed and untreated for obstructive sleep disorders, primarily due to lack of awareness by the public and health care professionals.
"Some physicians are still undertrained in this area, and the public perceives snoring (a classic obstructive sleep-disorder symptom) as a good night's sleep," he adds.
The majority of Americans surveyed in a Harris poll said they believe that diet and exercise are more important than sleep, Butler says. "Yet the same survey found 58 percent of those polled complaining of sleep deprivation. I think this indicates that the importance of sleep is minimized and not understood fully by the public," he adds.
Retired teacher Richard Bair Sr., 67, of Natrona Heights, Harrison, recently diagnosed with sleep apnea, agrees.
"Even though it's been around a long time, nobody took sleep problems seriously," he says. "You'd be amazed how many times at work you'd hear someone say, 'I had trouble sleeping last night,' or, 'I feel so tired today and don't know why,' or 'I'm tired all the time,' which I was," he says.
He says he has been "a bad sleeper" most of his life. In the past few years, his snoring kept waking up his wife. "I was attributing it to a lot of medications," he says. A lifelong walker, he decided to visit the sleep lab when he no longer felt invigorated after exercising.
"After a while, you just want to get this resolved," he says.
He is glad he did, as are the Kilgores.
"Now I don't need to nap anymore during the day," Ralph Kilgore says. "It's a much more restful sleep. When I wake up in the morning, I'm refreshed," he says.
"Listen to what your loved ones are saying if they tell you to get help," June adds. "The help is out there. The technology is out there. They know how to take care of you. If you love your family, you've got to do it for them."
Patients merely have to spend the night at the hospital while their sleep is monitored.
"It wasn't too bad. They hook you up to some wires, and you go to sleep," says Kilgore, who was diagnosed in the mid-'90s. "It's a great staff," he adds.
"I had a great nurse who went out of her way to make me comfortable," Bair says.
It's very effective for most patients, Butler says. The national average is a 70 percent success rate. The hospital lab's success is comparable.
"Over 50 physicians refer patients to our sleep lab," Butler says.
New practice guidelines issued by the American Academy of Sleep Medicine support a treatment called continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) as the standard care for adults with moderate to severe obstructive sleep apnea.
The sleep lab at Alle-Kiski Medical Center employs this treatment.
It delivers a pressurized airflow through a mask that covers a patient's nose during sleep, prevents pauses in breathing and restores oxygen levels. It also improves self-reported daytime sleepiness in patients with sleep apnea and may improve their quality of life, the Academy says.
Kilgore is a believer. He uses a portable machine at home.
"I don't snore anymore," he says.
That sound you hear is the Kilgore family cheering. Additional Information:
If you go
What: Sleep awareness lecturesWhen: 6 p.m. Tuesday and 8 a.m. Friday
Where: Destination Wellness, Neighborhood 5, The Galleria at Pittsburgh Mills, Frazer
Admission: Free
Details: 724-274-5202 or www.wpahs.org
