Sleep Apnea Testing, How, What, Why?
If you have just fallen asleep on the metro and awoke in a random suburb instead of making it to work; perhaps you are wondering why? Did you go to bed early but woke up tired again for no real reason? Perhaps you changed your mattress and pillow but still no luck? Well, it could be sleep apnea. This is due to either physical obstruction of the throat stopping you breathing consistently, the brain not sending signals effectively or breathing muscles or a mixture of both. The three different types of sleep apnea that a person could suffer from are;
- Obstructive sleep apnea; this is the most common and where throat muscles relax and collapse causing a physical obstruction.
- Central sleep apnea; this occurs when the brain doesn’t send enough signals to the breathing muscles.
- Complex sleep apnea syndrome; this is when the patient has both of the above sleep apneas.
The main signs of sleep apnea are; a dry mouth in the morning, loud snoring, gasping during sleeping, a headache in the morning, and challenges staying awake or paying attention during the day.
Home Sleep Apnea Testing (HSAT)
As you can tell by the signs and symptoms of sleep apnea, it is exceedingly difficult to diagnose; on face value it could be from just getting old right? In most cases it is the partner of the person affected that raises the alarm that it could be something else.
So, what happens next is that you go to a professional health care provider and see what they think. They will suggest until further notice, your work duties are changed due to tiredness concerns being a potential risk to you or others. They will then give you a referral to see a specialised to try and diagnose it further; perhaps through monitoring your sleeping at a specialist facility.
But wait, what about if your partner could log your night for you somehow wouldn’t that be easier! Sure, but then you realise due to sleep deprivation that you don’t have a partner, and if you don’t have a night vision camera which could be inconclusive anyway, your back to square one!
Luckily you can now get a wrist device that is cheap and simple to wear that monitors your sleep for you at home. Results are automatically formatted into a report and sent to your physician on some systems. These are called HSAT devices and can make diagnosis and monitoring far easier for sufferers of sleep apnea than the alternative.
How Do HSATs Work?
HSAT systems typically test for;
- Rapid eye movement (REM) and other types of sleep; how long did the user actually sleep properly.
- Checks body position; a person laying on their front may be restricting their own breathing.
- Snoring; to aid investigation of obstructive sleep apnea.
- Oxygen Desaturation Index (ODI); is the user getting enough oxygen in their blood when sleeping. Apnea or Hypopnea Index (AHI); is calculated to aid assessment.
- Raspatory Disturbance Index (RDI); is calculated to aid assessment.
From this the physician will hopefully be able to diagnose you correctly and provide a suitable treatment successfully without the extensive stays in specialist facilities.
For testing your sleep apnea at home please contact Itamar Medical Ltd