Can a person actually die from Sleep Apnea?

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Do you know what sleep apnea is? I have it. But I didn't realize it until a sleep study at the hospital back in 1995. I was diagnosed with this condition back then after being diagnosed with a pleomorphic adenoma or the paratid gland. I called it a prehistoric add in noma. But when I was also tested for GERD, anxiety, bipolar I thought I was basically doomed! Then I asked the doctor, "What form of Sleep Apnea do I have?" The doctor said I had two types, Obstructive Sleep Apnea and Central Sleep Apnea. In any case, I snored at night and often just stopped breathing and frequently gasped for air off and on many times during my sleep so my wife had me tested in what they call a Sleep Study. But I asked what would happen if I had gone on without being properly diagnosed and provided a CPAP machine? The doctor said, I could get Congestive Heart Failure. Well, a man I know died yesterday, in his sleep. He was a heavy smoker. This contributed to his problem which was in fact, He stopped breathing and this alarmed his brother. After calling 911, a paramedic asked his brother, "Do you need or want us to take you to the hospital?" He said, "I'm okay." They left him in his home, and about 10 hours later he stopped breathing a second time, but before this happened, he was having respiratory distress. Now, it could be that he had some form of Sleep Apnea, or maybe COPD or a combination of lung disease from smoking along with the possibility of Sleep Apnea. I will never know. His brother is grief stricken by his death. I am saddened by it. But it begs the question ... "Can a person actually die from Sleep Apnea?" Well, I got my answer, It is a big fat YES: The Mayo Clinic says this is very likely. I am about to turn 60. I have both forms of Sleep Apnea. I sometimes go to sleep and forget to use my CPAP machine. So I guess I am at risk although I do not smoke. But that don't matter. It appears that death from this condition is very possible and I am a candidate for it. So I better keep using my CPAP machine if I want to continue my life. I may have already done some damage by not using the machine as often as I should. It only takes one hour and not breathing 20 times or more each hour to put me on the fast track to sudden cardiac death. Sobering news for me to think about and reasons to wonder if my friend's brother suffered this ill fate and just did not realize it.