Mr J is a 54-year-old man with a history of sleep apnea. He lives in a suburb of Boston with his wife and 2 children, owns a small company, and has managed care insurance.In 1995, Mr J's wife noted that he stopped breathing at night. Mr J also recalled that he awoke, on occasion, in the middle of the night with palpitations. He mentioned this to his primary care physician, Dr M, who referred him for a sleep study. The study revealed 206 obstructive events, giving an apnea hypopnea index (AHI) of 36 per hour. He had oxygen desaturation to a nadir of 74%. Based on these results, his pulmonologist recommended that Mr J proceed with nasal continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) titration. The results of his CPAP study showed that 5 to 6 cm of water pressure eliminated the obstructive events and oxygen desaturation. Mr J seemed to have some difficulty falling asleep with the mask, but overall it appeared to be well tolerated during both rapid eye movement (REM) and non-REM sleep.With the nasal CPAP, Mr J's palpitations ceased, but after about a year he discontinued the nasal CPAP because it interfered with his ability to fall asleep and with his sex life. A trial of clonazepam, 0.25 mg, about a half hour before sleep did not improve his ability to sleep with the CPAP. When he pursued the use of an oral device, Mr J was told that the most effective agent for treatment of sleep apnea was nasal CPAP, but he did not resume its use.Currently, Mr J states that he feels well. He falls asleep without difficulty and is able to sleep about 8 hours per night. He does not experience shortness of breath and he does not perceive any difficulties with his sleep patterns or daytime sleepiness.Mr J has a medical history of coronary artery disease (with stent placement), hypertension, hyperlipidemia, diverticulitis, recurrent sinusitis, and L5-S1 radiculopathy. Because of his history of coronary artery disease and hypertension, Dr M strongly encouraged Mr J to use his nasal CPAP. Mr J stated that he could not tolerate CPAP, but he did lose 20 lb and now weighs 205 lb (his body mass index [BMI] is now 28.6). Mr J's current medications include aspirin, atenolol, atorvastatin, gabapentin, and ibuprofen. He does not smoke and rarely drinks.