Sleep Apnea Testing; why is it needed?
Astronauts pass out during space missions due to extreme forces on the body, but why are you passing out on the morning train to work? Well, it could be sleep apnea, this is where a physical obstruction of the throat stops you breathing intermittently at night and make suffers wake up from a 8hrs of ‘sleep’ more tired than ever. In rarer cases it can also be due to the brain not sending signals effectively to breathing muscles or a mixture of both. The three different types of sleep apnea that a person could suffer from include; obstructive sleep apnea, which is the most common and where throat muscles relax and collapse causing a physical obstruction to the throat. Central sleep apnea; this occurs when the brain doesn’t send enough signals to the breathing muscles and they temporary stop. Or a mixture of both.
The main signs of sleep apnea during the day are challenges staying awake or paying attention. This is very dangerous for people who drive or use heavy equipment. Do you wake up with a headache, dry mouth or has your partner notice you snoring loudly? So, what do you do if you think you have sleep apnea?
At Home Sleep Apnea Test (HSAT)
Signs and symptoms of sleep apnea are exceedingly difficult to diagnose, after all how do you know based on the generic symptoms? In most cases it is the partner of the person affected that raises the alarm that it could be something else other than just getting older. Great, as with any problem-solving process you now know something is not right, so what’s you next step? Specialists and overnight observations are expensive, not to mention a disruption to your life. Thankfully insurers have come up with a better approach with the first step in diagnosis the utilisation of a HSAT device that are cheap to purchase and allow the user to send autogenerated reports of their sleep to their physician! HSAT devices have improved drastically over the past few years with modern devices being not just cheap but also much easier to wear, with some fitting on the wear’s wrist!
How Do HSATs Work?
HSAT systems typically test for the following;
The type of sleep experienced by the wearer. How long did the user actually sleep properly, was it REM sleep or another form of lighter sleep?
HSAT devices check body positions. If a person is sleeping on their front or side this may be restricting their own breathing.
The snoring and gasping can also be identified and further aid investigation of obstructive sleep apnea.
Raspatory Disturbance Index (RDI); is calculated to aid assessment.
Oxygen Desaturation Index (ODI) is calculated based on sensor input to assess if the user is getting enough oxygen in their blood when sleeping. Apnea or Hypopnea Index (AHI) is also calculated to aid the assessment process.
The results collected from these devices help your physician to be able to diagnose you correctly and provide a suitable treatment without the extensive stays in specialist facilities. Furthermore, these devices can help monitor if the corrective actions implemented are actually positively impacting the condition through regularly monitoring your sleep. As these actions can take time to work it is great to have quantitative measure to help you give you much needed motivation in the process and provide additional data to the doctor.
Summary
At home sleep apnea tests are useful for the diagnosis of sleep apnea conveniently from the sufferer’s home. No need to go to specialist facilities that are expensive and is backed by most insurers as the first step in diagnosis. One diagnosed these handy devices can help monitor the condition and provide data through auto-generated reports to your physician.
