How serious is moderate obstructive sleep apnea?

How serious is moderate obstructive sleep apnea?

Obstructive sleep apnea is classified by severity: Severe obstructive sleep apnea means that your AHI is greater than 30 (more than 30 episodes per hour) Moderate obstructive sleep apnea means that your AHI is between 15 and 30.

How do you assess a patient with sleep apnea?

Tests to detect sleep apnea include:

1. Nocturnal polysomnography. During this test, you’re hooked up to equipment that monitors your heart, lung and brain activity, breathing patterns, arm and leg movements, and blood oxygen levels while you sleep.
2. Home sleep tests.

What does r/o OSA mean?

Obstructive sleep apnea occurs when the muscles that support the soft tissues in your throat, such as your tongue and soft palate, temporarily relax. When these muscles relax, your airway is narrowed or closed, and breathing is momentarily cut off.

How is obstructive sleep apnea diagnosed?

How Do I Know I Have OSA? The gold standard for diagnosis is a Polysomnography (PSG), or, sleep study. This test is performed while the patient is asleep at a sleep laboratory, and monitors brain waves, blood oxygen levels, heart rate and breathing, as well as eye and leg movements.

Is OSA a lifelong condition?

OSA is a chronic, lifelong medical condition that can affect your sleep, health and quality of life. It has been linked to hypertension, diabetes, heart disease, work and driving related accidents and stroke.

What is the most common complaint of patients with obstructive sleep apnea?

The most common complaints are loud snoring, disrupted sleep and excessive daytime sleepiness. Patients with apnea suffer from fragmented sleep and may develop cardiovascular abnormalities because of the repetitive cycles of snoring, airway collapse and arousal.

Can obstructive sleep apnea be cured?

CPAP and oral appliances work well, but they’re not cures for sleep apnea. The only sure way to rid yourself of the condition for good is to either lose weight or have surgery to remove excess tissue from the palate or throat.

Does sleep apnea shorten life span?

Sleep apnea is dangerous because if untreated, it leads to high blood pressure and is associated with an increased chance of heart attack, abnormal heart rhythms and heart failure. Studies have shown that sleep apnea can decrease life expectancy by several years.