Making the Diagnosis
A doctor will ask more detailed questions to find out whether someone has the symptoms of sleep apnea and will examine them physically to see what might be blocking the airway. Routine blood tests, blood pressure readings, and examinations of the heart might be done to see if there are physical complications from sleep apnea or to rule out other possible conditions.
To confirm that the condition is sleep apnea, a test called overnight polysomnography may be done. For this test, a variety of measurements are taken while the person sleeps in a specialized sleep laboratory. Some people can have their sleep study done at home instead of in the laboratory, though this might not be as accurate.