Obstructive Sleep Apnea History

Sleep Apnea and sleeping problems in general are not a rare condition however it is something that often is not properly diagnosed. A lot of people do not even realize that they have a problem with not breathing properly as they sleep so do not seek help and therefore do not get a diagnosis.

If it does get to the stage where you are to be diagnosed then you will undertake a polysomnography (PSG) test usually conducted by sleep specialist at a sleep clinic. The PSG looks at the brain waves, muscle activity, eye movement, and heart rhythm of the patient.

In fact Sleep Apnea goes back at least as far as 1837 when it was mentioned in Charles Dickens literacy masterpiece “The Posthumous Papers of the Pickwick Club”.

Since then there have been many groups of doctors and scientists looking into this condition and carrying out extensive research. This has helped improvements in treatment and also educating people so that more of us are aware of this condition, its implementations and the treatments involved.

It was in the 1960’s that the condition really started to become recognized and doctors and scientists started to look at the causes of sleep problems. In 1965 Dr Gestalt, a French specialist doctor undertook an extensive look at people that had problems with breathing in their sleep and named them ‘sleep issues’. Around 30 years ago a group of Australian doctors founded a positive way to treat sleep apnea. They found that people who had problems sleeping responded will to continuous positive airway pressure during sleep. This method of treatment is still one of the main forms of treatment today.

Right at the start of the 1990’s it was founded that many people have sleep problems are undiagnosed. If this continued and the condition was left untreated it can become life-threatening and lead to an increased risk of heart disease and stroke. Hence The American Sleep Apnea Association (ASAA) was founded. Their mission was to increase understanding of this sleep condition – not just amongst the public but with health care professionals and organizations.

This was stepped up another gear when the ASAA launched a new project – The Alert, Well and Keeping Energetic (A.W.A.K.E) network. This was launched across America to educate everyone about this sleeping disease. They visited every state across the country to make sure everyone knew the signs and symptoms of this condition and how to seek treatment.

Now a days the condition is easily treated as long as you contact your doctor. Many people are becoming more education about the condition to know to get treatment and recognize the signs of this possibly life threatening disease.

Our understanding of this condition has improved so much since it was first documented in Charles Dickens’ book and this is thanks to the French doctor and the Australian group that looked into the condition, helped us develop treatments and increase education across American so that more people are aware of this condition.