Celebrities with Sleep Apnea

On a lighter note, we at IHateCPAP.com thought it'd be fun to lighten the mood a bit and share with our blog readers a different type of post today. We often provide very technical information about sleep apnea, its causes and its treatment, but today we're taking a break from the norm.

Some of you may find it reassuring to know that some of the most famous and gifted people in the world suffer (or suffered) with the same condition as you: sleep apnea.

For instance, Johannes Brahms, a great classical German composer of the nineteenth century suffered with obstructive sleep apnea most of his life, according to a study done a few years ago.

Jerry Garcia, an American musician best known for his work with the band The Grateful Dead, suffered with sleep apnea, which, it is alleged, contributed to his death of a heart attack in 1995, while he was in a drug rehab facility in California. Garcia had struggled for a long time with his weight, diabetes, and drug addiction, but it's a little known fact that he also had sleep apnea.

For you vampire lovers out there, author Anne Rice also suffered with sleep apnea. Rice gained a lot of weight after the death of her husband, and sleep apnea was a condition that accompanied her weight gain. She is best known for her work, Interview with the Vampire, later adapted for the big screen starring Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt.

Cool Hand Luke fans surely know George Kennedy, the actor who played Dragline; Kennedy won an Oscar for this role. Later in his career, Kennedy starred in the Airport series of plane disaster films and the in the Naked Gun series of movies as Captain Ed Hocken. Kennedy had sleep apnea much of his adult life.

NFL hall of famer, Reggie White, who held the record for quarterback sacks for a while died in 2004 of massive heart attack brought on by sleep apnea. He was only 43.

With so many treatments available now for sleep apnea, you need not suffer with this potentially life-threatening condition any longer. If you live in or around the Chicago, Gurnee, Illinois area, please contact sleep apnea specialist, Dr. Ira Shapira today to schedule a consultation.