As we have been discussing in this series of blogs, sleep is important. In particular, if you have an issue with sleeping and have sleep apnea, it can affect your surgery healing and the risk of anesthesia.
My last blog was about 10 signs to look for to figure out if you may have sleep apnea. One test the author recommended to screen for apnea (as many patients don’t realize they have this issue) is the “STOP BANG” questionnaire.
So here it goes:
S. S is for Snoring. Do you snore louder than talking/ can be heard through closed doors? YES/NO
T. T is for Tired. Do you often feel tired, fatigued, or sleepy during the daytime? YES/NO
O. O is for Observed. Has anyone observed you stop breathing in your sleep? YES/NO
P. P is for Pressure. Do you have high blood pressure? YES/NO
B. B is for BMI. Is your BMI over 35kg/m2?
A. A is for Age. Are you over the age of 50?
N. N is for Neck Is your neck circumference over 40cm?
G. G is for Gender Are you male?
A score of 5 of more YES answers mean you have a high probability of obstructive sleep apnea.
If that is true, then you need an evaluation by a sleep specialist. When seen by a sleep specialist they can stratify your risk. Things they will look at are your oxygen saturation in your blood (below 90%?), respiratory rate (breaths per minute less than 8), and apnea episodes lasting longer than 10 seconds. You can do a sleep study to see what you are doing overnight, and they can grade the severity of your apnea. If you have apnea of a certain level, you can improve your sleep, oxygen saturation, and restfulness by using CPAP.