Diagnosing Sleep Apnea Is Done Through Sleep Tests
An indicative diagnosis as an answer to the general query of 'do I have sleep apnea' can be made based on the symptoms reported by the family members of the person raising it. However, diagnosing sleep apnea to establish its presence with conviction is an entirely different matter.
The presence of the medical condition may be indicated on the basis of the various signs and symptoms of sleep apnea. Sleep apnea signs include morning headaches, learning-related issues and memory loss, irritability, mood swings, and personality changes. However, the most common signs are chronic loud snoring and day time sleepiness. However, it is to be noted that every person who snores does not have sleep apnea.
Sleep apnea symptoms include restless sleep, gasping for breath when asleep, frequent arousals, fatigue, inability to concentrate, and lack of awareness of frequent arousals. There are many other symptoms of sleep apnea, but doctors use certain tests, a physical exam, and a study of the medical history of a patient in making a definitive diagnosis. The medical history helps a doctor to know the medical background of the patient.
A doctor asks a patient and his/her family members a series of pointed questions to assess the day time sleepiness, bedtime habits, and the quality of sleep. The doctor also conducts a physical exam of the patient. The internal cavity of the mouth, the upper airway, the throat, and neck are covered in the exam. The doctor may conduct tests that include arterial blood gases, an echocardiogram, an electrocardiogram (ECG), thyroid function studies, and special sleep studies. The diagnosis of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is made on the basis of two special tests. These are the polysomnography and the multiple sleep latency tests. A description of these tests is provided below. Polysomnography (PSG): It is commonly used to provide a diagnosis of OSA. A full polysomnographic test is used to diagnose sleep apnea in a patient in whose case portable diagnostic procedures fail to confirm the diagnosis. The test is conducted overnight on the patient while he/she is asleep. In the test certain parameters that include eye movement, heart rate, muscle activity, blood oxygen levels, airflow, respiration, and electrical activity of the brain are recorded. The collected information is then analyzed. Multiple Sleep latency Test (MSLT): This test is used to measure the speed of falling asleep. A patient is provided several opportunities to fall asleep during the test. The time to fall asleep is recorded for each such opportunity. When a patient falls asleep within 5 minutes, it indicates that he/she requires treatment for a sleep disorder. MSLT is therefore used to eliminate other disorders and to provide a measure of excessive day time sleepiness. Sleep tests such as polysomnography conducted for diagnosing sleep apnea help determine the value of the apnea hypopnea index (AHI). An AHI value that exceeds 5 confirms the sleep apnea diagnosis.
Sleep Apnea
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