Sleep apnea means “cessation of breath” or “no breath,” its characterized by repetitive episodes of airway obstruction that occur during sleep. The most common kind of sleep apnea is called Obstructive Sleep Apnea Syndrome. The best way to diagnose this is by taking a sleep apnea test given at a sleep study facility.
A sleep apnea test is called a polysomnography, and there are two types to diagnose what type of sleep apnea the patient has. An overnight polysomnography test involves monitoring brain waves, eye movement, oxygen levels in the blood, audio monitoring, respiration, and muscle tension. The physician will look for restless sleep, confusion upon awakening, snoring/gasping, excessive perspiring during sleep. These are some of the symptoms coinciding with sleep apnea.
The second type of sleep apnea test or polysomnography is an at home monitoring test. A sleep technologist hooks you up to all the electrodes and instructs you how to record your sleep with a computerized machine that you will take home, sleep normally and return in the morning. That morning they will be able to read the data that was collected during the night and determine a diagnoses. Both test are painless and are usually covered by your insurance.
Sleep apnea can be potentially life-threatening and requires immediate medical attention. The risks for an undiagnosed obstructive sleep apnea includes heart attacks, strokes, high blood pressure, and heart disease. The severity of the symptoms may be mild, moderate or severe. If you are having trouble sleeping, breathing while sleeping, or you wake up tired please inform your physician and set up an appointment for a sleep apnea test.