Doctors Say Home Test Fine for Sleep Apnea

Home testing can help to diagnose sleep apnea just as well as an overnight stay in a sleep lab, new guidelines from a major group of doctors say. People with sleep apnea stop breathing, briefly, many times each night. This can cause daytime sleepiness. The condition also has been linked with a higher risk of heart attack and stroke. Sleep apnea is usually diagnosed after overnight monitoring in a sleep lab. But home monitors have been used increasingly because they cost less and can be used by people who are not near a sleep lab. And research suggests the home monitors do the job, the American College of Physicians (ACP) says. ACP doctors provide primary care for adults. The new AAP guidelines say these home studies are fine for diagnosis of sleep apnea in most people.