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