Page 18 - Outstanding Women Friendly Physicians (2)

Dr. Bradley A. Eli

Story & Photos by Judith A. Habert

While attending
college I worked at a
local hospital where
I first heard the term
Sleep Apnea. At the
time I thought it was
only a disease that
affected babies. My
time spent with Dr.
Bradley Eli made me
aware of the wide-
spread existence of
this disease among
adults. Sleep Apnea
is a major part of
what Dr. Bradley Eli
treats in his
Encinitas practice.
For those of us
not aware of the
seriousness of this
disease, according
to the National
Commission on
Sleep Disorders
Research,
approximately
38,000 deaths
occur in the US on
18 an annual basis
that are related to
Sleep Apnea. Sleep
Apnea is a condition
in which the patient
will stop breathing a classification. It is necessary to find out specifically if you stop
while asleep. As Dr. Eli explains, “While sleeping we are breathing breathing, and if so for how long, and does your body keep trying
in and out, but when you exhale and then attempt to inhale, your to breath despite no air movement? Once these factors are deter-
tongue and soft palette fall into the airway space and actually seal mined we then know what to do regarding your treatment method.
the space closed. So without warning, you are breathing along Perhaps you need a CPAP machine; which is an apparatus that
and all of a sudden, when you go to inhale you can’t. This disrupts fits over your face and forces air to your airway while you sleep.”
your sleep and causes severe stress to your body. In the worst Dr. Eli shares the number one problem with this treatment method,
case scenario it can cause death. There are those who have “Although it is an excellent treatment for this disease and is
Sleep Apnea causing them to stop breathing 10-15 times per hour provided through my office, not everyone seems to be able to use
of sleep, and in severe cases it can happen even more frequently.” it consistently, about half the patients use the machine nightly as
With these statistics I was interested in how a patient would know they should. Tragically when not used patients can die. football
if they had Sleep Apnea. Dr Eli explains, “There are certain symp- player Reggie White, died from sleep apnea that was untreated.”
toms which are associated with this disease. Often the patient is
overweight, they snore, or have high blood pressure. Typically, if a Dr. Eli has taken this problem and created a much needed solu-
patient has an 18 inch neck, or greater, they are at risk for Sleep tion. “We match the patient to the treatment, not the other way
Apnea.” Dr. Eli has become known as the specialist in the com- around. If a patient knows they won’t use the CPAP then we will
prehensive treatment of apnea, and has created an easy test that find an alternative treatment. We want 2013 to be the year we
you can do in his office. Dr. Eli explains, “It is called the A.R.T. test raise awareness of sleep disorder breathing to the community of
(Apnea Reality Test) which can allows my patients to experience women and men. It is a universal problem that has been treated
what it is like to not breath, so they truly understand the serious- in a less than ideal way. We have alternatives to the Cpap that
ness of this disease.” may help but many patients are not even aware that other treat-
I was amazed at what I learned about Sleep Apnea: How over- ment options exist. We do offer the Cpap, but in addition we have
weight patients are at risk for the disorder, and having the disorder mouthpieces, pillows, positioning therapy, dilator therapy, and ev-
can result in you having even more difficulty losing weight due to ery single non surgical treatment option available for sleep apnea.
the stress of not breathing and release of stress hormone. We strive to make the patient and treatment fit, so that they will
Dr. Eli shares the process while being diagnosed for this condition. use it all night every night!
“Once a patient is diagnosed with this disease they are placed in