FIRE ON MORE IN THE MORNING. MORE THAN 200,000 AMERICANS SUFFER FROM SLEEP APNEA EACH YEAR. AND NOW THERE’S A SURGERY BEING DONE HERE IN NEW MEXICO TO HELP PEOPLE WITH THE DISORDER. ACTION 7 NEWS REPORTER ANGEL SAUCEDO EXPLAINS THE NEW PROCEDURE FOR PATIENTS. I WOULD FALL ASLEEP TALKING TO PEOPLE. I WOULD FALL ASLEEP AT THE TRAFFIC LIGHT. SLEEP APNEA AFFECTS UP TO 16% OF WOMEN IN ALMOST A QUARTER OF MEN. DOCTORS SAY THE DISORDER DOESN’T JUST AFFECT YOUR SLEEP EITHER. INCREASED RISK FOR OTHER BAD DISEASE STATES TO HAPPEN LIKE A HEART ATTACK AND STROKE. BUT IT ALSO WORSENS OTHER CONDITIONS LIKE HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE. IT’S WHEN YOUR BODY STOPS BREATHING FOR PERIODS OF TIME AT NIGHT. THEY’VE ACTUALLY BEEN SHOWN TO HAVE DEATH RATES THAT ARE MUCH LOWER THAN THE GENERAL POPULATION WHO DOES NOT HAVE SLEEP APNEA. MICHAEL ARCHULETA IS ONE OF THOSE WHO SUFFERS FROM THE DISORDER. NOW IT’S FIRST DIAGNOSED IN MY MID 30. I WAS WAS GIVEN THIS TO LEARN HOW TO BREATHE THROUGH AT NIGHT AND SLEEP, AND I NEVER GOT USED TO IT. IT’S VERY CUMBERSOME. THAT’S WHAT HE SPOKE TO DOCTORS ABOUT, A NEW SURGICAL TREATMENT. AND I TAKE A LOOK DOWN AT THE THROAT AND I’M LOOKING TO SEE HOW THINGS ARE COLLAPSING AND IF THEY COULD POTENTIALLY BE A GOOD CANDIDATE FOR THE INSPIRE THE SURGERY IS CALLED INSPIRE, WHERE DOCTORS PUT AN IMPLANT THAT MAKES BREATHING AT NIGHT EASIER. NOW, I SWITCHED THAT MASK OVER TO THIS. NOW THIS IS MY MACHINE THAT I JUST PUT IT OVER MY CHEST AT NIGHT. IT MAKES A BEEP AND I GO TO SLEEP. I DREAM AGAIN AND I’VE BEEN ABLE TO GET MY ENERGY BACK UP. I’M SLEEPING WELL SIX, SEVEN HOURS, A GOOD SLEEP. DOCTORS SAY SUCCESSFUL RESULTS LIKE MICHAELS ARE COMMON JUST WITH THE RIGHT DIAGNOSIS. YOU KNOW, YOU WANT TO FIRST TALK TO YOUR PRIMARY DOCTOR, YOU WANT TO GET A SLEEP STUDY TO SEE WHERE THINGS ARE AT. THIS IS A BIG SURGERY. ANGEL SALCEDO, KOA