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Tests and diagnosis
By Mayo Clinic staffYour doctor may make an evaluation based on your signs and symptoms or may refer you to a sleep disorder center. There, a sleep specialist can help you decide on your need for further evaluation. Such an evaluation often involves overnight monitoring of your breathing and other body functions during sleep by polysomnography.
During a polysomnography test, you will be connected to equipment that monitors your heart, lung and brain activity, breathing patterns, arm and leg movements, and blood oxygen levels while you sleep. This can help your doctor rule out other conditions — such as periodic limb movements or narcolepsy — that can cause excessive daytime sleepiness but require different treatment.
An evaluation by a heart specialist (cardiologist) or a doctor who specializes in the nervous system (neurologist) may also be necessary to look for causes of central sleep apnea.
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- NINDS sleep apnea information page. National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke. http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/sleep_apnea/sleep_apnea.htm. Accessed April 10, 2011.
- Javaheri S. Central sleep apnea. Clinics in Chest Medicine. 2010;31:235.
- Ropper AH, et al. Sleep and its abnormalities. In: Ropper AH, et al. Adams & Victor's Principles of Neurology. 9th ed. New York, N.Y.: The McGraw-Hill Companies; 2009. http://www.accessmedicine.com/resourceTOC.aspx?resourceID=54. Accessed April 8, 2011.
- Malhotra A. What is central sleep apnea? Respiratory Care. 2010;55:1168.
- Badr MS. Central sleep apnea syndrome: Pathogenesis. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index/html. Accessed April 11, 2011.
- Budhiraja R. Sleep-disordered breathing and cardiovascular disorders. Respiratory Care. 2010;55:1322.
- Collop N. Portable monitoring in obstructive sleep apnea in adults. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index/html. Accessed April 11, 2011.
- Millman RP. Polysomnography in obstructive sleep apnea in adults. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index/html. Accessed April 11, 2011.
- Your guide to healthy sleep. National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute. http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/public/sleep/healthy_sleep.pdf. Accessed April 9, 2011.
- Central sleep apnea. The Merck Manuals: The Merck Manual for Healthcare Professionals. http://www.merckmanuals.com/professional/print/sec05/ch061/ch061d.html. Accessed April 12, 2011.
- Badr MS. Central sleep apnea: Treatment. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index/html. Accessed April 11, 2011.
- Hastings PC, et al. Adaptive servo-ventilation in heart failure patients with sleep apnea: A real world study. International Journal of Cardiology. 2010;139:17.
- Randerath WJ, et al. Combined adaptive servo-ventilation and automatic positive airway pressure (anticyclic modulated ventilation) in co-existing obstructive and central sleep apnea syndrome and periodic breathing. Sleep Medicine. 2009;10:898.
- Ono H, et al. Sleep apnea syndrome: Central sleep apnea and pulmonary hypertension worsened during treatment with auto-CPAP, but improved by adaptive servo-ventilation. Internal Medicine. 2010;49:415.
- Olson EJ (expert opinion). Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn. April 15, 2011.
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