Imagine being nudged awake from a deep sleep 30 to 100 times an hour. This is what sufferers of sleep apnea experience every night.

Nationwide Medical Inc., an Agoura Hills based medical home supplier, aims to help such people breathe easier and thus sleep better by supplying and servicing continuous positive air pressure (CPAP) machines. 

David Siegel, chief operating officer of the company, remembers the first time he saw the sleep laboratory videos of apnea sufferers trying to get a night's rest.

"It was surprising to me how many times somebody stops breathing in a night. How low, and scary low, their oxygen levels can decrease to," he said.

The sleep disorder stems from the blockage of the upper respiratory airways. 

"Generally snoring is blockage, but the eye opener for us was that people never really correlated these issues with sleep apnea," said Siegel. "No one really understood until recent years how much these problems can actually relate to heart disease, stroke and diabetes."

According to the U.S. Department of Health, if left untreated, sleep apnea can cause a slew of problems, including high blood pressure, obesity and stroke.

The tissue of respiratory pathways collapses while a person with sleep apnea tries to rest, causing an obstruction that makes him or her snore and/or gasp for breath. As a result of being repetitively awakened by gasping or severe snoring, the individual is fatigued throughout the whole day.

Dody Jordahl, Nationwide Medical's director of high technology, said one of the main problems in diagnosing the condition is that the symptoms often go ignored.

"We live in a society where everybody is tired normally, so it's hard to convince people that it's not just you being tired," said Jordahl. "There might be some underlying issues that you need to address."

Often the fatigue goes ignored or is self-diagnosed as just a lack of sleep. This can lead to self-medication through the excessive use of caffeine or other harmful stimulants, which in themselves may cause damage to the health of the individual, according to Jordahl.

"There are more people that have sleep apnea in this world than have diabetes and asthma," said Howard Siegel, the company's president. "And yet, the diabetic market and the asthmatic market get a lot more attention than people suffering from obstructive sleep apnea."

Those diagnosed with sleep apnea are often prescribed palm-sized CPAP machines, which continuously pump air into the respiratory system through the tubing that leads to a mask worn by the patient. Based on the degree of apnea, the pressure is pre-programmed in accordance with orders given by the person's physician. 

The masks are available at Nationwide Medical in various models, and each is fitted to the particular customer. "It's really up to the patient's preferences and comfort," said Jordahl. 

Nationwide Medical was created in 2002 when David Siegel, along with his father Howard Siegel and other partners, found an undeveloped niche that had no service component. They applied service industry components that they brought with them from the insurance field and created their business model.

"Most people sell something to the client and never hear from them again," said Siegel. But for National Medical, it's "OK, we sold you the CPAP machines, but you may need new tubes or accessories."

Most health insurance plans cover the cost of the machines, Siegel said. It is much cheaper for insurers to try to prevent sleep apnea suffers from developing heart disease and diabetes than it is to pay for their treatment once they've already gotten them, he said.

The more awareness that is brought to sleep apnea, the greater the chance that sufferers will get a mask that finally brings them a peaceful night.