Obstructive sleep apnea affects as many as 20 percent of adults. It comes with a host of symptoms that disrupt your daily and nightly routines. Sometimes, sleep apnea can even be fatal.

Grote was already facing a host of health problems. He was also having trouble sleeping. Gordon came to the Sleep Disorders Center at University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics to find out what was wrong. Specialists monitored his sleep patterns. The results were dramatic. Grote's sleep apnea was so advanced - he actually stopped breathing.

"When I finally did go to sleep I went into a deep sleep and eventually I just quit breathing and they had to resuscitate me by mouth-to-mouth, to get me to come back to life again," says Grote.

"It took him awhile to come out of that because he was now no longer asleep, he was essentially in a coma and he may never have woken up. And we've seen that in similar studies in our own intensive care unit," says Eric Dyken, M.D., IU Hospitals and Clinics sleep disorders specialist.

Grote's sleep technician was able to revive him. The episode provided valuable information to University of Iowa sleep specialists, who equipped Grote with a C-pap - or continuous positive airway pressure device. It uses a mask to deliver a flow of air that keeps the airways open in Grote's throat. He can't sleep comfortably or safely without it.

"If I sleep without it and nobody's around, I will go into a deep sleep and virtually the same thing could happen again; I could quit breathing. If there's nobody there, that's it," says Grote.

Grote's new therapy helped him lose more than 40 pounds. And he's also sleeping better at night.

Grote's experience also provided valuable information to researchers at the University of Iowa's Sleep Center. They hope to use it to help other sleep apnea patients in the future.

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Eric Dyken, M.D.

Sleep Disorders Center