Two things struck me about this story, http://www.aolhealth.com/2010/08/10/obstructive-sleep-apnea-treatment/ . The first was how unusually quickly the sleep doctor and lab responded to his problem - sleep study one night, consultation with the sleep doc the next afternoon, titration that same evening, and then CPAP delivered the next afternoon. That is so unusual it sounds like fiction or either I read it wrong.

The second is how dear John was ever allowed to get in this shape. This condition undoubtedly progressed over a few decades and was never detected. This story "screams" for having a sleep-disordered breathing (SDB) screening for every person on their routine physicals. It is more important than the standard cholesterol, blood pressure, and blood sugar checks.

The screening would be a questionnaire administered by a medical professional trained in the questioning and recognition of symptoms of SDB. (Dare I say that the next step for patients testing positive would be a portable home sleep study? :):))

If you have an AOL account and agree about regular screening and that "dear Johns" should never get to such a sorry state, I urge you to make this comment to the article.