Sleep apnea needs to be treated properly

Here’s an interesting report out of White Plains, N.Y., published Monday in USA Today: “A New York commuter railroad committee Monday approved a contract to hire a firm to test engineers for obstructive sleep apnea after a fatal crash in 2013 was determined to be the result of the engineer suffering from the illness.

“Four people were killed and 70 injured in the Dec. 1, 2013, Metro-North Railroad crash in the Bronx. Engineer William Rockefeller dozed at the controls before his train derailed. Rockefeller was later diagnosed with sleep apnea that was exacerbated by a recent shift change.”

Besides making us more confident when riding commuter trains in New York, this article also makes us more aware of sleep apnea and the dangers it can cause such as high blood pressure, heart attacks and strokes.

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