In Sleep Apnea: Is RA Connected? Part One, we discussed the
percentage of RA patients who are at increased risk of
developing sleep apnea. We also learned about the signs and
symptoms of sleep apnea. In Part Two, we will discuss how sleep
apnea is diagnosed and treated. How is sleep apnea diagnosed?
Sleep studies are the most accurate tests for diagnosing sleep
apnea and determining its severity. The most common sleep study
is the polysomnogram (PSG) which uses sensors (applied to the
scalp, face, chest, limbs, and a finger) to record brain
activity, eye movements, leg movements, body position,
respiratory rate, heart rate, blood pressure, and blood oxygen
level while you sleep. A sleep study report will detail the
quantity of sleep (total sleep time), sleep efficiency (total
sleep time divided by total testing time), sleep latency (how
long it took to fall asleep), and sleep stages. Arousals
(interruptions of sleep lasting 3 to 15 seconds) can occur
spontaneously or as a result of sleep-disordered breathing.