Attention CPAP Slackers!

It has come to my attention that there are many people out there who have CPAP machines, but are not using them.  

Remember, there is no shame in wearing a mask at night.  Even Tom Cruise wore a mask at night, in Eyes Wide Shut.

Granted, his was a little more stylish than the ones used for CPAP.  But really, medical devices are gaining in popularity.  Within several decades, everyone will be seen on the street wearing some kind of medical device.  You will just be a little bit ahead of the fashion curve.

Plus, there is a good reason to wear it when you are supposed to.  According to Medscape (free registration required):

Sleep Apnea Increases Cardiac Arrhythmia Risk

By Will Boggs. MD

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) Apr 17 - Sleep-disordered breathing (SDB) is associated with an increased risk for complex cardiac arrhythmias, according to a report in the April 15th issue of the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine.

This study, "suggests increased vulnerability for nocturnal cardiac arrhythmias in those with SDB," Dr. Reena Mehra from Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio told Reuters Health. However, "the potential relationships of these arrhythmias and sudden nocturnal cardiac death in patients with SDB remain to be determined."

Dr. Mehra and colleagues compared the prevalence of arrhythmias in 228 patients with SDB and in 338 matched controls without SDB.

Atrial fibrillation, nonsustained ventricular tachycardia, complex ventricular ectopy, bigeminy, and quadrigeminy were significantly more common among SDB patients than among controls, the authors report. [...]

Wearing medical devices will be stylish someday, but quadrigeminy never will be stylish.