Patients with sleep apnea are urged to seek immediate attention for this disorder. Sleep apnea is a potentially life-threatening condition that can be effectively diagnosed and managed by our skilled team Pulmonary & Sleep Consultants.

Sleep apnea is a disorder that involves the interruption of normal breathing - breathing stops and starts during sleep. Types of sleep apnea include: obstructive type (most common), central type, and complex sleep apnea syndrome.

The symptoms of the obstructive and central sleep apnea types include:

• Loud snoring (more common in obstructive sleep apnea)
• Having episodes when breathing stops (witnessed by another person)
• Awakening abruptly with shortness of breath (more common in central sleep apnea)
• Having headaches in the morning
• Having difficulty staying asleep
• Feeling very sleepy during the daytime
• Having attention problems
• Feeling irritable
• Awakening with dry mouth or a sore throat

Sadly for the millions of Americans who are living with this undetected condition, sleep apnea often goes undiagnosed. Your primary care doctor will not be able to detect the symptoms of sleep apnea because they occur during sleep. Even you may be unaware of the signs. Most cases are brought to light because of a partner or family member who witnesses the symptoms.

To diagnose the condition, your doctor will ask you questions about your symptoms, as well as gain information about your medical history, family history, medications and lifestyle. In general, two tests are used to diagnose sleep apnea. You might to come into the clinic for overnight monitoring with nocturnal polysomnography, which is a test that uses equipment to monitor different bodily functions while you sleep. Your doctor may also recommend home sleep testing, which is an at-home test that monitors these functions.

Our board-certified physician will work with you to develop a personalized treatment plan to treat the sleep apnea. There are many treatment options he will consider. These may include weight management, positional therapy in which you are trained to sleep on your side, lifestyle changes such as avoiding alcohol near bedtime, a continuous positive airway pressure machine, oral appliance therapy, or surgery.