Sleep Center

Diagnosis of Sleep Apnea Syndrome

To diagnose sleep apnea syndrome, an overnight hospitalization and a sleep test called polysomnography is required. During the overnight sleep, the patient is prepared by a sleep technician. Sleep is recorded with sensors attached to the head, eye area, nose, chin, legs, chest and abdomen. Accordingly, it is observed whether the patient is actually asleep, whether the sleep deepens, whether there are breathing pauses during sleep, what the oxygen level is, whether there are frequent awakenings or frequent leg movements.

The Growing Prevalence of Sleep Apnea Syndrome

With unhealthy eating habits and inactivity, obesity/overweight is becoming increasingly common. Along with this, sleep apnea syndrome has become more common. Sleep apnea syndrome is a disease characterized by frequent breathing interruptions during sleep. In sleep apnea syndrome, patients usually report complaints such as snoring, waking up choking or breathing pauses during sleep witnessed by a partner, waking up frequently at night, waking up tired in the morning, excessive sleepiness during the day, and lack of attention. The presence of sleep apnea syndrome can lead to many conditions such as serious heart disease, resistant high blood pressure, stroke, heart attack, difficulties in controlling diabetes, etc. Because of these serious conditions, early recognition and treatment of sleep apnea syndrome is of great importance.

Polysomnography: The Sleep Test

To diagnose sleep apnea syndrome, an overnight hospitalization and a sleep test called polysomnography is required. During the overnight sleep, the patient is prepared by a sleep technician. Sleep is recorded with sensors attached to the head, eye area, nose, chin, legs, chest and abdomen. Accordingly, it is observed whether the patient is actually sleeping, whether the sleep deepens, whether there are breathing pauses during sleep, what the oxygen level is, whether there are frequent awakenings or frequent leg movements. After approximately 6-8 hours of sleep recording, the sleep test is terminated by waking the patient between 06:00-08:00 in the morning and the patient can return home or to work. After the test result is evaluated and reported by the sleep specialist, the patient is informed. If it is determined that the patient has moderate/severe Sleep Apnea Syndrome according to this result, the patient will be given an appointment for a second sleep test called a second night or device pressure adjustment test. The device pressure adjustment test is performed on patients diagnosed with Sleep Apnea Syndrome. Again, your sleep is monitored throughout the night, but during this time, the patient is made to breathe air at a certain pressure through a mask covering the nose or mouth-nose to prevent breathing interruptions. After the test results have been evaluated, a report on which device should be used and at which pressures is prepared and sent to the patient. Rarely, the appropriate device settings cannot be determined on a single night. In this case, it may be necessary to repeat the test with a different device or different pressures.

Benefits of Treating Sleep Apnea Syndrome

An individual diagnosed with sleep apnea syndrome, after appropriate treatment, stops snoring or reduces it significantly, has a more productive night's sleep, wakes up rested in the morning, has less sleepiness during the day, and most importantly, the risk of diseases in some vital organs threatened by sleep apnea syndrome, especially the heart and brain, is reduced. Therefore, it is recommended to consult a sleep center to recognize and treat sleep apnea syndrome early.