Severe sleep apnea diagnosed in 36-year-old man after driving incidents

A 36-year-old obese man in Vietnam was diagnosed with severe obstructive sleep apnea after experiencing frequent daytime drowsiness and falling asleep while driving. Medical examinations at Military Hospital 175 revealed that the patient experienced more than 130 instances of apnea per hour, accompanied by significant drops in blood oxygen levels and CO2 accumulation.

Clinical findings indicated that enlarged tonsils and soft palate hypertrophy narrowed the patient's upper airway, a condition exacerbated by obesity. The patient had previously dismissed loud snoring as a sign of deep sleep, despite family reports of him gasping for air or stopping breathing for nearly a minute during the night.

The patient is being treated with Positive Airway Pressure (PAP) therapy, which has already shown improvements in sleep quality and reduced daytime fatigue. Medical experts warn that untreated sleep apnea can lead to serious complications, including hypertension, cardiovascular disease, stroke, and respiratory failure.