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Pulse Oximetry is Everything You Need to Screen Sleep Apnea

According to one study, measuring the ODI with overnight oximetry testing is a less expensive and effective method to screen for sleep apnea. The study found that sleep disordered breathing is linked to cardiovascular complications and sudden death. The results of this showed disordered breathing in 87% of the patients who also followed up with treatments of polysomnography.
Sleep apnea is a condition where you have excessive breathing problems when you are sleeping. These pauses are referred to as apnea; every shallow breath is referred to as hypopnea.

Using Pulse Oximetry Right
You cannot simply rely on the number you see. You must take into account other factors. For example heart failure patients suffer from bad perfusion, which leads to false positives and false negatives since the blood pressure has diminished. Pulse oximetry never shows the depth of variation in these ups and downs. The body makes extra hemoglobin in heavy smokers. It is just an attempt to deliver sufficient oxygen to the body cells which is something that should be taken into account when reading the device.

Quality of Sleep
If a person suffers from a poor night’s sleep, it means they have low energy levels; it could also lead to low levels of exercise. A person with excess weight, stress and depression due to poor quality of sleep will have probably more instances of disordered breathing during their sleep. This results in hormonal and metabolic changes. Some diseases are likely to manifest in such a person. If a patient suffers from diabetes as well as sleep apnea their treatment will be impeded if they do not treat sleep apnea. Interruptions in the quality of sleep affect your body’s ability to be able to metabolize glucose; treating sleep apnea may create a positive domino effect for you.

Overnight Oximetry Testing
The ideal way to approach screening for sleep apnea is for the doctor to screen at risk patients as well. Only those who relay that they wake up in the middle of the night startled by their own snoring should be sent home with a portable overnight oximeter device. Multichannel sleep monitors may be just what one requires to find out if there is a serious condition involved. The bottom line is that patient’s awareness of meeting with physicians is an important factor in diagnosing sleep apnea and other sleep disorders. Doctors can’t let warning signs slip away; this is exactly why patients need to diligently answer questions of whether they sleep during the day, snore a lot, or just stop breathing. Patients should also tell physicians of any other condition they may have like diabetes or hypertension.