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Sleep Apnea: Home Testing with WatchPAT Device, the Philips Respironics, & the Wellue O2Ring
Photo: Itamar Medical patient brochure
by Steve S. Ryan, PhD, Updated June 2021
At least 43% of patients with Atrial Fibrillation suffer from Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA) as well.
Sleep Apnea is a common disorder in which you have one or more pauses in breathing or shallow breaths while you sleep. Breathing pauses can last from a few seconds to minutes. They may occur 30 times or more an hour. Typically, normal breathing then starts again, sometimes with a loud snort or choking sound.
A-Fib anD Risks of Untreated Sleep Apnea
It is now established that there’s a correlation between Sleep Apnea and A-Fib.
If you have untreated Sleep Apnea, you are a greater risk of having a more severe form of A-Fib or of not benefiting from an A-Fib treatment .
For example, after a successful catheter ablation, patients with untreated sleep apnea have a greater chance for recurrence of their A-Fib.
The In-Lab Sleep Study
In the standard lab test for sleep apnea, you go to a hospital-like room, put on cumbersome sensors, then try to go to sleep in this unfamiliar environment. And this test isn’t cheap ($1100-$2,000).
It requires extensive monitoring to measure airflow, chest/abdominal movements, electromyography, electrocardiography, and oxygen saturation levels. The formal name for this test is polysomnography (PSG).
At Home Sleep Tests (HST)
A home sleep test (HST), also called ‘Unattended Sleep Study’, is a sleep study tool that is used for the diagnosis of obstructive sleep apnea. Most HST devices are portable —about the size of a telephone handset. A home sleep test is more affordable at $250-$300.
Itamar Medical’s WatchPAT™
The WatchPAT is an FDA-approved wrist-worn sleep study device you can use in the comfort of your own bedroom to determine if you have sleep apnea. (PAT is short for Peripheral Arterial Tonometry [pressure measurement].)
It assesses respiratory disturbances and indirectly detects sleep apnea by measuring volume changes in the peripheral arteries along with pulse oximetry (oxygen desaturation) and respiratory arousals. (When you have sleep apnea, your breathing often stops till you have to gasp for breath. This is called “respiratory arousal.”)
Philips‘ Alice™ NightOne
Another HST is the Philips Respironics Alice NightOne, an FDA-cleared Type III device. It features a belt that goes around your chest with a nasal cannula (short two-prong nose tube) which you place in your nostrils and a Pulse Oximeter which you wear on your finger. Read more at SingularSleep.com. Others: Ares by Watermark and ResMed’s ApneaLink™ Plus.
Wellue O2Ring
The Wellue O2Ring is worn on your finger and vibrates when low oxygen levels or abnormal heart rate is detected.
For example, if you start snoring when in a particular position such as on your back, it will vibrate so you can change your sleeping position.
The app provides users with detailed analysis and records of overnight blood oxygen levels, heart rates, and body movements. It records in 4 second intervals.
How to Choose a Home Sleep Test Provider
According to Dr. Joseph Krainin, founder of SingularSleep.com, it’s important your interpreting physician review the entire record to make sure of the proper diagnosis.
Dr. Joseph Kranin
Insist that your interpreting physician be a fellowship-trained, board certified sleep physician (who has one full year of training in sleep medicine and passed a rigorous national examination).
Before signing up with a HST provider, make sure to ask how long it will take to get results. And if your first encounters with a company’s customer service isn’t first-rate, steer clear of this provider.
Note: Dr. Joseph Krainin offers online sleep doctor telemedicine consultations.
What Patients need to know
Everyone with A-Fib should be tested for sleep apnea. It’s now available at a fraction of the cost of an in-lab sleep study ($250-$300 vs. $1100-$2,000). And it’s convenient (especially if being away from home overnight is problematic). Talk to your EP. With OSA home testing now available, there is no excuse for not doing a sleep study.
Learn more about Home Study Tests on the American Sleep Association website: What is a Home Sleep Test or HST.
Return to Diagnostic Testing
Last updated: Friday, June 11, 2021
