Obesity or significant weight gain can contribute to the blockage. The three main symptoms suggesting a diagnosis of sleep apnea are snoring, someone observing that you stop breathing, and excessive daytime sleepiness. If you routinely fall asleep easily in front of the TV, fall asleep at work or nod off while driving, you may have excessive daytime sleepiness. Falling asleep at work can result in injuries or poor evaluations. Nodding off while driving for a fraction of a second can lead to serious accidents with injuries.
Untreated apnea can lead to heart disease, accidents, and marital discord.
The first step in diagnosing sleep apnea is a thorough history and physical by your physician. If there is a strong possibility that you have apnea, you may need to spend the night in a sleep disorders center. To determine if someone has apnea, we monitor brain waves with an EEG, eye movements, muscle activity, air flow, oxygen levels, and heart rate overnight. This allows us to determine the number of times per hour someone stops breathing, how low his or her oxygen drops, and what effect this has on the patient's sleep overall. With that information, we can recommend the appropriate therapy.