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Spokesperson for the Quebec Lung Association, humorist and actor Anthony Kanavagh is fighting in his country for sleep apnea to be better taken care of. For our colleagues from Konbini, he spoke about this problem which has affected him personally for 15 years.
“I found out when I was only 37 or 38 that I had sleep apnea.” Thus begins the video testimony of Anthony Kavanagh published by the Konbini site this Friday, December 16, devoted to this pathology which affects, according to Améli, 4% of the French population. Today invested in this cause in Quebec, the actor evokes without taboo and facing the camera this disorder of nocturnal ventilation of which he was diagnosed late:
“I was always exhausted, fell asleep everywhere, fell asleep at the wheel a few times. I was also drinking 10,000 coffees a day to keep going” he mentions.
Apneas that could last “between 15 seconds and 1 minute 30” every night, alternating with snoring “jackhammer” according to him, which could reach 92 decibels.
“It took me an hour and a half to get out of bed in the morning. I woke up like a zombie, even more tired than the day before,” he says.
Cardiovascular risks and depression at stake
Beyond fatigue, the artist evokes above all the deeper consequences that have tarnished his life for years while giving the change on stage despite everything. “Sleep apnea causes a lot of problems and illnesses, such as increased cardiovascular risk, total loss of libido, but also depression.” Thus he confides in a darker part of these years before diagnosis.
“You lose your confidence, your inspiration, you lose everything because you don’t sleep. And you think you’re going crazy with fatigue. In my case, I didn’t want to kill myself, but I came to say to myself “if I die there, that’s fine”.
The official Social Security website, ameli.fr, recalls the serious consequences of this syndrome, which promotes the occurrence of:
- High blood pressure;
- coronary artery disease;
- heart failure;
- Heart rhythm disorders;
- Of cerebrovascular accident.
What is sleep apnea?
For Doctissimo, Dr Royant-Parola, psychiatrist, sleep specialist and president of the morphea networkexplains this disorder from which Anthony Kanavagh suffers, like some of the French:
“Sleep apnea is the fact that breathing does not take place normally during sleep with either complete cessation of breathing (the famous apneas), or a struggle to bring in air (hypopnea), which will cause sleep splitting with micro-awakenings throughout the night.”
A disorder that can lead to an increase in blood pressure, sweating, sometimes heavy snoring, but above all a feeling of fatigue on waking which sets in and cardiovascular risks in patients.
What causes sleep apnea?
“Most of the time it is a so-called obstructive apnea, linked to an obstacle that prevents good breathing: the tongue which tilts backwards, the soft palate too low, being overweight (one obese person out of two suffers from sleep apnea). An anatomical configuration can also be involved: a recessed jaw shape that crushes the pharyngeal space, or on the contrary a very thin person in whom the space is narrowed laterally. Some rare apneas are neurological.
The symptom is more frequent in men than in women before the age of menopause but is balanced between the two sexes afterwards.
What are the symptoms that should lead you to consult?
Several clues can encourage you to consult your general practitioner to discuss your bad nights or to contact a sleep doctor:
- Fatigue, with a struggle against the desire to sleep that persists day after day;
- Drowsiness;
- Very heavy snoring in men;
- Restless nights;
- Insomnia in the second part of the night in postmenopausal women;
- High blood pressure;
- Breathing felt to be irregular (by the partner for example).
Solutions such as a continuous positive pressure device, a mandibular orthosis to advance the jaw “and soon lingual nerve stimulation” advances the specialist, are treatments that can help you spend more peaceful nights.
In his video, the comedian concludes by insisting on this last point: “Because of the apnea, a part of my life escaped me, it was a mourning to do things that I could have done with more energy. So if you snore, if you stop breathing, if you’re always exhausted, if you’ve gained weight, go get diagnosed.”