Man Dies In Sleep Center ...

[Cubby]

I am not sure why you think an overweight person shouldn't be participating in a sleep study? Overweight people do all kind of things.

There is a difference between being overweight and obese. I don't consider every overweight person obese. I am over weight but far from obese. The man who participated in this sleep study was easily in the 400 plus pound range. He clearly qualifies as obese.

Clearly whatever sleep issues as well as other health issues he had, he was well aware were likely caused by his weight. I'm sure he was aware of his health situation from his regular physician. Advised to lose weight..... We don't know that he consulted with his regular physican before participating in this sleep study, and honestly - carrying that much extra weight was a strain on his heart long before he ever chose to participate in this sleep study.

JMHO

 

[songline]

I agree that it's odd, but not sure if there was neglect.
I have spent 2 nights at a sleep study clinic, they hook up so many monitores to you and everything is recorded. It seems to me that if someone was really in destress that it would be caught very quickly.
I wonder how many they have there on staff for the clinic? The 1 I was at had only 1 person and they had 2 bedrooms so it's possible they would be busy with the other person and something could be missed.
I do find it interesting that they said no medication was given. My Dr had an order for me to take ambien if I was not able to go to sleep while there, I didn't need it since I brought my medication with me which helps me to sleep.

VB

But his uncle was allowed to view the monitor and said he was waving for 40 minutes as if to try to get attention from a nurse :waitasec:

 

[LogicalMinds]

He no doubt had conditions to start with, overweight, sleep apnea

that is why he was even accepted for the study JMO

maybe they were negligent...but just think IF he had been home alone and sleeping, he could have died in his sleep

my guess is that he had sleep apnea symptoms and that is why he was in the "study"

 

[JBean]

There is a difference between being overweight and obese. I don't consider every overweight person obese. I am over weight but far from obese. The man who participated in this sleep study was easily in the 400 plus pound range. He clearly qualifies as obese.

Clearly whatever sleep issues as well as other health issues he had, he was well aware were likely caused by his weight. I'm sure he was aware of his health situation from his regular physician. Advised to lose weight..... We don't know that he consulted with his regular physican before participating in this sleep study, and honestly - carrying that much extra weight was a strain on his heart long before he ever chose to participate in this sleep study.

JMHO

Cubby, I am not sure, but you might be thinking this was some sort of volunteer-research type study.
This guy would have been in a medically necesary study as a diagnostic tool, like xrays or an MRI.
They were likely doing the study to see if he had sleep apnea.There is a direct relationship between heart disease, sleep apnea and obesity so I have no doubt this test was ordered by his physician to help choose a course of treatment or to perhaps rule things out. Obese people that stop breathing when they sleep can suffer a host of heart problems and since he had heart trouble, this test was surely necessary.

 

[sillygoose]

You know, your post got me thinking .... couldn't they have used the Defibrillator? If they acted fast enough ... could he have been revived?

And when you say 'he was probably dead before he even hit the floor' ... I ponder this. Even if the heart stops .. it can be revived, no? And isn't there a certain number of minutes, it can be stopped, without irreversible damage, or no chance of revival?

Just wondering ...

It is possible that the heart can be revived, of course. The best case scenario of cardiac arrest is having a defibrillator used within the first five minutes. The chances of resusitation go down about 10% after each passing minute after the heart stops. So after just five minutes, that's a 50% chance of resusitation. Those aren't good chances, when you consider how long it takes for people to realize what is going on, and how long it takes for emergency to get there.

I just can't figure out how the conclusion of negligence could be reached with cardiac arrest. There are no warning signs. It can't be treated beforehand. The heart just stops. It's sudden death. When did we start holding people liable for not bringing others back from the dead? The man was certainly inconvienced for having to wait 40 minutes to pee, but that certainly didn't cause his heart to stop.

 

[LogicalMinds]

The more I read this, the more I think the family has NO case ...of course they are sad and upset but this is no one's fault

the guy was not "in the hospital"...he was not even on medication or anything, just sleeping with some monitors attached to him to check for sleep apnea

he had type 2 diabetes, heart problems...very overweight...

and it has been pointed out that he got up and went to the bathroom after he "waved"

they didn't "do" anything to him there that caused this...IMHO he could have had a heart attack in his sleep at home and then who to blame??

He was in the study cause he probably had sleep apnea..he had all the precursors for that....the study was meant to help him

I am sure the emergency medical people did there best but sometimes that doesn't work

yeah he was only 25...but my guess is that his heart was in a condition usually seen in a much older person. He had a LOT of health problems

sleeping with sensors to monitor his sleep didn't kill him...his own health problems did

 

[Cubby]

Even if this was ordered by his phyician, I am sure there were other courses of action the doctor had requested of the patient regarding his medical conditions. I don't see how his death was in any way related to the sleep study.

It was just his time based on his health and possibly other conditions which will show up if the family chooses to have an autopsy performed.

 

[JBean]

Even if this was ordered by his phyician, I am sure there were other courses of action the doctor had requested of the patient regarding his medical conditions. I don't see how his death was in any way related to the sleep study.

It was just his time based on his health and possibly other conditions which will show up if the family chooses to have an autopsy performed.

I totally agree with you Cubby. I just thought maybe you thought this not a medically indicated test and were questioning why he would participate.

 

[Opie]

In agreement here that it's likely this man's medical conditions were the cause of his death. A sleep study is often indicated as a diagnostic tool and many times a special machine helps them breath (with a mask) as treatment when the results of the test are known. Some people stop breathing many times during their sleep and this is hard on the heart. Who knows how long this may have been going on in his case?

And sometimes it is just someone's time to die no matter what is done. May he rest in peace and may his family find peace for themselves.

 

[wfgodot]

Wrongful death lawsuit filed.

Sleep study captures last few hours of 25-year-old man's life as he asks, 'Am I dying?' (Daily Mail)

A video camera that was meant to capture a man’s sleep patterns instead recorded the final hours before he died and cost him his life, according to the 25-year-old’s family.

Brandon Harris, who was mentally disabled, had been referred by his doctor to the Emory Sleep Center in Atlanta to determine whether he suffered from obstructive sleep apnea, a condition which causes difficulties in breathing.

But his family had allegedly voiced concerns about the study, saying that it was risky for Brandon to lie on his back for long periods of time because he was overweight and suffered from congestive heart failure, diabetes and high blood pressure.
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