Sleep Apnea Test What Is It
The greek word for apnea means Without Breath, it is a sleep disorder were the sufferer’s breathing stops whilst sleeping. More often than not the sufferer isn’t aware of the symptoms and it is usually friends and family who first notice the problem due to the excessive and loud snoring. If left untreated the disorder can be life threatening. A sleep apnea test will diagnose the problem.
This test is usually executed in a sleep apnea test lab and the medical name for it is a polysomnography. The test monitors the patients sleep pattern, such as breathing, heart rate, sleep state monitoring, eye movement, muscle activity and blood oxygen levels.
A sleep apnea test will monitor all of these conditions and will record each event which will allow the doctor to diagnose how serious the condition is. This test is a very important diagnostic tool but like any tool it has its drawbacks. Such as the patient is taken away from their normal sleeping environment and connected to several monitors with wires attached to them. Several people are also viewing the patient sleep all in all this makes the patient very uncomfortable and more often than not the patient finds it very difficult to go to sleep.
To remove the awkwardness of a lab test you can also execute a sleep apnea test in the comfort of your own home. The equipment will monitor how the air is moved in the lungs and out of the lungs, heart rate, the exertion needed to breathe and the blood oxygen levels. For a home test the technician will go to the patients home set up the equipment, the sufferer will go to sleep as normal.The technician will return the following morning to pick up the equipment and data and will then send it to the physician.
A home sleep apnea test which is approved by the federal drug administration is the Watch PAT100. The equipment consists of a wearable wrist unit and a fingertip probe. Before going to bed the equipment is connective to the wrist and fingertip. Whilst the patient sleeps the device monitors changes in pulse rate and blood flow and blood oxygen saturation levels. A memory card records the information which then can be downloaded onto a P.C. for analysis by the physician.
Tags: Sleep Apnea causes, sleep apnea remedies, sleep apnea statistics, sleep apnea support, Sleep Apnea Test