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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. Tests to detect central sleep apnea may include:
- Nighttime monitoring (nocturnal polysomnography). During this test, equipment 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.
- Blood oxygen monitoring (oximetry). This screening method involves using a small device that monitors and records your blood oxygen level while you're asleep. A small sleeve fits painlessly over one of your fingers to collect the information overnight at home. If you have sleep apnea, the results of this test will often show drops in your oxygen level during apneas and subsequent rises with awakenings. If the results are abnormal, your doctor may have you undergo polysomnography to confirm the diagnosis. Oximetry doesn't detect all cases of sleep apnea, so your doctor may still recommend a polysomnogram even if the oximetry results are normal.
- Portable breathing (cardiorespiratory) testing. Under unusual circumstances, your doctor may provide you with tests to be used at home to detect sleep apnea. These tests usually involve oximetry, measurement of airflow and breathing patterns.
- Arterial blood gas testing. Under some circumstances, it's necessary to obtain a measure of both oxygen and carbon dioxide in the blood to help make the correct diagnosis and assess the severity of your condition. This test involves drawing blood from an artery, usually one in your wrist.
An evaluation by a heart specialist (cardiologist) or a doctor who specializes in the nervous system (neurologist) may be necessary to look for causes of central sleep apnea.
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- Morgenthaler TI (expert opinion). Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn. May 22, 2009.
