It is estimated that 22 million Americans suffer from sleep apnea, with 80 percent of the cases of moderate and severe obstructive sleep apnea undiagnosed.
One of the reasons for this is the diagnosis process. Sleep studies are typically performed in a sleep lab, which requires an overnight stay. Spending a night outside the comforts of your own home and being observed by others while you sleep is enough reason for many individuals to skip having this potentially very dangerous condition diagnosed and treated.
To alleviate this concern, Jamaica Hospital now offers accurate home sleep studies to diagnose sleep apnea. To conduct a home sleep study, patients simply come to Jamaica Hospital’s Sleep Center and receive a portable, easy to use take-home sleep kit, which includes a monitor, leads, bands, pulse oximeter, and nasal cannula. Before taking the kit home, the staff at Jamaica Hospital’s Sleep Center provides a detailed orientation on how to use the device.
After conducting your sleep apnea diagnosis test in the comfort of your own home, you return the kit the next day. The information gathered from the home kit is downloadable and the results are available within days, as opposed to the long waiting time typically associated with sleep lab studies, which is a major benefit to those who need immediate results.
Another benefit of conducting a home sleep apnea test is appointment availability. While most lab-based sleep tests involve a long waiting period to get an appointment, take home sleep kits are usually readily available. According to Ruth Mompoint, Director of Jamaica Hospital’s Sleep Lab, “The demand for home sleep studies has been so strong, we recently had to order additional kits to meet the growing demand.”
If obstructive sleep apnea is diagnosed, further lab-based studies may be required to determine the correct course of treatment.
For more information about Jamaica Hospital’s home sleep studies, please call 718-206-5916.
All content of this newsletter is intended for general information purposes only and is not intended or implied to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Please consult a medical professional before adopting any of the suggestions on this page. You must never disregard professional medical advice or delay seeking medical treatment based upon any content of this newsletter. PROMPTLY CONSULT YOUR PHYSICIAN OR CALL 911 IF YOU BELIEVE YOU HAVE A MEDICAL EMERGENCY.