Sleep Apnea Diagnosis

The first step to an accurate diagnosis of sleep apnea is self-awareness. The person, or their sleep partner, must first be aware that they have a sleeping problem to start the diagnosis process. This is why each person should keep track of how often they wake up in the night, how often they have restless nights and how often they feel groggy during the day, as each of these things can be a sign of sleep apnea.

When a person is aware that they could be having a sleeping problem their next step is to try and get a sleep apnea diagnosis. To do this the person will need to visit their general practitioner to go over their medical history and address their concerns. During this visit the doctor will probably want to talk to the person and to their sleep partner about their sleeping habits. Common questions that are asked during this type of visit include: do you snore, how many times do you get up in the night, do you wake up choking or gasping, and how alert do you feel during the day?

If the doctor recognizes that the person has sleep apnea symptoms the next step sleep apnea is diagnosis is to run tests. Perhaps the least invasive test for sleep apnea is a sleep study. This test is basically an observation of the patient while they sleep in a controlled environment. In addition to, or instead of a sleep study, a doctor may also order one or more of the following tests: EKG, Echocardiogram, blood tests, fiber-optic pharyngoscopy, CY scan, and X-rays. The results of these tests will usually lead to an accurate sleep apnea diagnosis, or some other cause for the person's sleeping problems.