Sleep Apnea

Diagnosis

Your doctor will ask whether you snore and whether you feel excessively sleepy during the day. Your doctor will examine you and look for any narrowing inside your mouth and throat. Your doctor will check the size of your neck because the larger your neck, the more likely you are to develop obstructive sleep apnea. Your doctor will check your blood pressure because people with sleep apnea are more likely to develop high blood pressure.

Many people with obstructive sleep apnea don't have any problems with the nose, throat and mouth. In these cases, a diagnosis can only be confirmed by a sleep study, during which a persons' breathing patterns and sleep stages are monitored throughout an entire night. A daytime study of brief naps can measure the degree of daytime sleepiness and indicate the severity of the disorder.

Expected Duration

How long sleep apnea lasts depends on its cause and on the effectiveness of treatment. Generally, sleep apnea is a chronic disorder, meaning you'll be dealing with it for a lifetime. For some people with obstructive sleep apnea, losing weight may make the problem less severe. Sometimes, surgery can help. For people with central sleep apnea, how long the problem lasts depends on treatment for the neurological or cardiovascular disorders.