Diagnosis Therapy uses gentle, continuous air pressure to keep your airway open throughout the night, reducing pauses in breathing and improving sleep quality.
Sleep apnea can be difficult to recognise because many of its symptoms happen while you are falling asleep. You may not even realise that your breathing is repeatedly stopping or becoming slow unless someone sleeping next to you notices it or you wake up gasping for air.
So, how is sleep apnea diagnosed? The process of sleep apnea diagnosis usually starts with a discussion about your symptoms, sleep habits, medical history, and risk factors. If your healthcare professional suspects sleep apnea, they may recommend that you undergo a sleep study. Depending on your situation, a sleep study could be an overnight test in a sleep centre or a home sleep apnea test (HSAT).
Your sleep study provides information about your breathing during sleep and helps determine whether sleep apnea is present, what is the type, and how severe it is.
Apnea Hypopnea Index is one of the key numbers doctors look at. It measures the average number of breathing disruptions you experience per hour.
The first and foremost step in a sleep apnea diagnosis is looking out for the signs that something might not be correct with your sleep. Some of the common symptoms include:
Well, not everyone with sleep apnea snores, and symptoms can vary from person to person. Because many changes in your breathing happen without you being aware. Usually, observations from the person you sleep next to, such as your family member, your partner, or roommate can also be useful when discussing symptoms with your healthcare professional.
If your symptoms suggest possible sleep apnea, your sleep professional will usually review your medical history or perform a sleep study test.
Your sleep provider might ask you some questions about your sleep, including whether you snore, wake up gasping for air, feel sleepy during the day, or have difficulty staying awake while driving, reading, or watching television.
Your healthcare provider might also look for some physical features or health conditions that can increase the likelihood of sleep apnea.
This can include examining your mouth and your throat, checking your weight and neck size, and going through your medications and existing health conditions.
Your sleep professional might also look into your family history because having a close family member with sleep apnea might increase your risk of getting diagnosed with the same.
Having one or more risk factors doesn't mean that you have sleep apnea. The sleep study simply helps your healthcare provider make a decision whether further evaluation or testing is needed or not.
Your healthcare provider might ask you to maintain a sleep diary for one or two weeks. A sleep diary is a simple record of your sleep and wake patterns.
A sleep diary keeps a record of:
A sleep diary cannot diagnose sleep apnea by itself. Instead, it provides your healthcare provider a better understanding of your daily sleep habits and symptoms to determine whether something additional is required or not.
If your healthcare provider suspects sleep apnea, the next step will be a sleep study.
A sleep study usually records different body signals while you are asleep and helps to identify breathing disruptions.
There are two common approaches:
The right test depends on your symptoms, medical history, risk factors, and overall health.
An in-lab polysomnogram, simply called a sleep study, is usually performed overnight at a sleep or laboratory.
During the test, sensors are placed on different parts of your body to collect information such as:
A home sleep apnea test allows you to undergo sleep apnea testing in their own home.
Instead of monitoring as many signals as an in-lab polysomnogram, an HSAT generally focuses on breathing-related information, such as airflow, breathing effort, blood oxygen levels, and heart rate. This home test does not measure brain waves to determine exactly when you are asleep or awake.
For this reason, an HSAT is not appropriate for everyone. It is generally used when a healthcare provider suspects uncomplicated obstructive sleep apnea in an appropriate adult patient.
After your sleep study is completed, the recorded information, your healthcare professional reviews the information. He then uses the results to determine whether you have sleep apnea, how severe it is, and what type of sleep apnea it is.
Sleep studies look for different types of breathing events.
It is one of the most important measurements used while evaluating sleep apnea. It tells you the average number of apneas and hypopneas you experience every hour of your sleep.
A higher AHI means breathing is disrupted more frequently.
Your healthcare professional will evaluate the number along with your symptoms and other findings of the sleep study.
| AHI | Severity |
|---|---|
| Below 5 events/hour | Generally considered within the normal range |
| 5–14 events/hour | Mild sleep apnea |
| 15–29 events/hour | Moderate sleep apnea |
| 30 or more events/hour | in Severe sleep apnea |
AHI is useful, but is not the only factor that matters. Your healthcare professional may also note your oxygen levels, symptoms, quality of your sleep, health conditions, and the type of breathing events recorded before planning the treatment.
Receiving a diagnosis for sleep apnea is not the end of the process; it’s just the beginning. It is the point where you and your healthcare provider can start deciding how to manage the condition.
Treatment depends on the type and severity of sleep apnea, your symptoms, and other health conditions,and your individual needs.
It means a positive airway pressure therapy, including CPAP and other PAP options. It uses gentle air pressure to help keep the airway open during sleep.
It includes various custom-fitted dental devices to reposition the jaw or tongue and keep the airway open. It is best suited for people with OSA.
Healthy sleeping habits include:
In some of the selected cases, your healthcare professional may advise you to undergo surgery.
For certain people with OSA who cannot tolerate PAP therapy, an implanted nerve-stimulation device may be considered.
Your treatment plan should depend on your diagnosis and be discussed with a qualified healthcare provider rather than relying on your AHI store.
The right sleep product depends on whether you have been diagnosed with sleep apnea, your treatment plan, and your needs as an individual.
The commonly used products for sleep apnea management or sleep comfort mat include:
A healthcare professional can assess symptoms and risk factors, but a sleep study is usually needed to confirm if you have sleep apnea or not.
Conditions such as insomnia, snoring, nasal congestion, acid reflux, anxiety, or other sleep disorders can be mistaken as symptoms for sleep apnea.
No. Blood tests cannot directly diagnose sleep apnea.
