Sleep Apnea
Diagnosis
Sleep apnea can be diagnosed and treated. Untreated sleep
apnea may increase the risk for hypertension, heart attack or stroke, diabetes
and work-related and driving accidents. It can also cause brain damage and result
in shorter life span.
As a part of the diagnosis, the doctor will perform a physical
examination by checking the mouth, nose and throat for extra or large tissues
and take a medical history. He may suggest a sleep recording which is a test
that is often done in a sleep disorder center or sleep laboratory.
Tests to detect sleep apnea may include :
Polysomnogram or PSG is the most common sleep
recording used to find sleep apnea. It is a painless test which records the
patients brain and muscle activities, eye movements, breathing and heart rate
and the amount of air passage to the lungs while they are sleeping. The patients
sleep throughout the night is monitored and a sleep medicine specialist will
analyze the PSG result to ensure sleep apnea.
Nocturnal polysomnography During this test, you're hooked up
to equipment that monitors your heart, lung and brain activity, breathing patterns,
arm and leg movements, and blood oxygen levels while you sleep. Because treatments
for other sleep disorders such as narcolepsy and insomnia differ, this test
helps your doctor to arrive at an accurate diagnosis.
Oximetry : Using a small machine, this screening
test records the oxygen level in the level while you are sleeping. A simple
sleeve fits over one of the fingers to collect the information overnight. If
you have sleep apnea, the results of this test will show drops in the oxygen
level during apneas and subsequent rises with awakenings. all cases of sleep
apnea cannot be detected using this test. Even if the result is normal, a polysomnogram
may be recommended
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