Pittsburgh’s Top Sleep Apnea Specialist
Sleep Apnea
Sleep apnea is a medical condition that can cause significant stress to your heart. Oftentimes, patients present with snoring and sleepiness. Patients with sleep apnea are 2-4 times more likely to develop heart arrhythmias (abnormal heart rhythms) than people without this condition. Sleep apnea increases the risk of heart failure by 140% and the risk of coronary heart disease by 30%.
Our team at Shadyside Cardiovascular, PLLC has experience and expertise in treating and diagnosing sleep apnea to prevent any cardiac complications you may face. We can evaluate you for sleep apnea by arranging for a sleep study, and we can manage your sleep apnea if your sleep study is abnormal and you require treatment.
As an independent group of medical specialists who provide cardiovascular care for office and hospital patients, we make every effort to deliver personalized, professional services to each person we see. If you’re ready to receive the best care available in East Pittsburgh for your sleep apnea, schedule your first appointment with Shadyside Cardiovascular, PLLC today.
Sleep Apnea Treatment in Pittsburgh
Treatment and Diagnosis of Central Sleep Apnea
There are three primary types of sleep apnea that you may struggle with and that your diagnostic team will be looking for during your evaluation process. These types are:
- Obstructive sleep apnea. This is the most common form of sleep apnea, and it happens when the throat muscles relax too much during sleep, obstructing breathing.
- Central sleep apnea. This type of sleep apnea happens when the brain improperly sends signals to your muscles while you sleep, particularly those which control your involuntary breathing.
- Complex sleep apnea syndrome. This condition is also known as treatment-emergent central sleep apnea. It occurs when a patient has a combination of central sleep apnea and obstructive sleep apnea, and can be extremely dangerous.
In cases of obstructive sleep apnea and central sleep apnea, the symptoms that present themselves can often overlap, making a diagnosis a bit more difficult to determine. These common symptoms include:
- A pause in breathing during sleep
- Gasping for air after a pause in breathing during sleep
- Loud snoring
- Consistent headaches in the morning
- Chronic insomnia
- Dry mouth after waking up
- Awakening with a dry mouth
- Feeling tired, irritable, and inattentive even during the day
If you’re in need of treatment and monitoring for sleep apnea, the team at Shadyside Cardiovascular, PLLC can help. Our Clinical Cardiology services include sleep apnea diagnosis and management, which can protect you from cardiac complications as a result of central sleep apnea.
To ensure the safety of you surgical procedure, pre-operative cardiac evaluation is often recommended to decrease risk. Our team at Shadyside Cardiovascular, PLLC will work with your surgeon to optimize your cardiac care during and after the surgical procedure.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are some common risk factors for sleep apnea?
Several lifestyle variables and elements of your medical history can make you more prone to sleep apnea than others. These risk factors include:
- Being overweight
- Having certain physiological traits such as a thicker neck or a naturally narrow airway
- Being an older adult
- Having a family history of sleep apnea
- Smoking and alcohol use
- Having frequent nasal congestion
- Struggling with heart conditions such as congestive heart failure or high blood pressure
- Having had a stroke in the past
How can central sleep apnea be diagnosed?
Sleep apnea is generally evaluated using different types of sleep tests. The most common types of sleep tests include:
- Nocturnal polysomnography, during which your heart, lungs, brain, breathing patterns, blood oxygen levels, and limb movements will be tracked by a machine as you sleep in a sleep testing facility.
- Home sleep tests, which are a simpler type of test that you can set up at home to measure heart rate, breathing patterns, and blood oxygen levels as you sleep in your bed.
If central sleep apnea is suspected, you may have an evaluation by one of our cardiologists.
How can I get started with the best cardiologist near me?
The team at Shadyside Cardiovascular, PLLC wants to make scheduling your first appointment with us as easy as possible. Just use our online tool to schedule with us, or give us a call at (412) 688-6414.