Outpatient Services

Health Center Sleep Disorders Center

Sleep is an important part of your overall health.


Sleep disorders are usually easy to treat. However, if left untreated they can increase your related health risks. You may recognize some of the symptoms of sleep disorders:

  •     Snoring
  •     Waking up feeling tired
  •     Falling asleep during the day
  •     High blood pressure
  •     Stop breathing or gasping for air during sleep
  •     Neck size larger than 17 inches or being overweight

The Health Central Hospital Sleep Disorders Center has Board Certified Sleep Physicians, Accredited Sleep Technicians and a dedicated staff to evaluate your sleep disorder and develop a program tailored to your individual needs, from diagnosis and treatment to follow-up.

COMMON SLEEP DISORDERS


Sleep Apnea
The most common sleep disorder diagnosis is Obstructive Sleep Apnea which is a pattern of breathing interruptions during sleep. In individual cases, it can occur as many as several hundred times a night, causing a shortage of oxygen and resulting in poor sleep quality. This common condition occurs in four out of every 100 men and two out of every 100 women and is often found in overweight patients due to the extra pressure on the airway.

Sleep Apnea can result in more serious complications including:

  •     Blood pressure fluctuations
  •     Hypertension and other heart problems
  •     Stroke
  •     Fatigue-related automobile accidents
  •     Decreased quality of life

Patients diagnosed with Sleep Apnea may be recommended for mouthpieces, sleep masks and/or nasal prongs attached to a machine with a fan, Melatonin and other sleep aid pharmaceutical pills or, as a last resort, oral maxillary surgery to widen the wind pipe.

Sleep Labs are also equipped to identify other sleep disorders including:

Narcolepsy (“sleep attacks”) is an irresistible urge to fall asleep at any time of the day. Brief paralysis can occur upon falling asleep. This condition makes driving an automobile unsafe.

Nocturnal Myoclonus (“restless leg syndrome”) is the twitching, sudden jerking movements or a “creepy crawly” feeling of the lower extremities during sleep. Sleep Apnea may be a factor in the development of this condition.

Parasomnia is the medical term for sleepwalking but also includes sleep talking, night terrors, recurrent nightmares and other related activities while sleeping.

Insomnia is a pattern of persistent difficulty falling asleep or waking earlier than normal.

Gastroesophageal Reflux (“heartburn”) may result in insomnia or poor sleep quality.

ADMISSIONS


Talk to your physician if you are concerned you or someone you know has trouble sleeping or staying asleep. Your doctor may refer the patient to a Sleep Lab or Sleep specialist.

You do not need a physician’s referral to enter the Health Central Hospital Sleep Disorders Center. Prior to your admission into the Center, you may have a consultation with a sleep specialist to identify your symptoms and to answer your questions about sleep disorders.

DIAGNOSIS


For proper diagnosis, most sleep disorder patients undergo a polysomnogram. This overnight sleep evaluation is a painless, non-evasive monitoring procedure performed in the Sleep Lab while the patient sleeps in a private, home-like setting.

A trained technician will record and monitor the patient’s brain waves, eye movement, heart rate, muscle activity, breathing patterns, oxygen levels and body position during sleep. The information is then analyzed and interpreted by a physician specializing in sleep disorders.

A diagnosis from the Health Central Hospital Sleep Disorders Clinic is a medical procedure covered by Medicare and most private insurance carriers.

Please call 407.296.1596 to schedule your appointment!