Sleep Disorders (Clinic)
The Clinic has a specialised sleep technologist – with certification – and nursing staff who are responsible for monitoring patients undergoing a sleep study throughout the night. The Sleep Laboratory performs sleep studies (PSG) for the diagnostic and therapeutic approach of patients with respiratory disorders in sleep and the control of respiratory function of patients with respiratory, cardiological and neurological diseases.
The Clinic operates a certified Sleep Laboratory for the diagnosis and treatment of sleep disorders. The scientific coordinator of the Sleep Laboratory is the doctor-pulmonologist Vassilis Michailidis, who has obtained certification from the European Sleep Research Society (ESRS) on the specialisation in sleep disorders (Expert Somnologist), and is responsible for the analysis, processing and evaluation of sleep studies.
Breathing disorders during sleep (often manifested by snoring and cessations of breathing) are a common and major problem as they may be associated with other diseases potentially life threatening (cardiac arrhythmias, heart failure, hypertension, traffic accidents, impotence, etc.).
Some people, during normal sleep, experience, due to various conditions, a narrowing or complete obstruction of the pharynx. As a result of the blockage, there are pauses of breathing that last from 10 seconds to 2 minutes. Such pauses can often be repeated from 20 to 80 times per hour. This phenomenon, which can be repeated many times during the night, is called Sleep Apnea Syndrome (SAS).
During pauses, blood oxygenation decreases, while the brain "wakes up". These disorders disrupt the "architecture" of sleep, which is no longer restful. Over time, sleep apnea sufferers may experience problems from other organs, such as the heart.
These disorders are diagnosed in a very reliable way with special studies of breathing during night sleep, ranging from simple recording oximetry to multiparametric sleep study with or without electroencephalographic control. All these tests are performed in the Pulmonary Laboratory of St. Luke's Hospital. The Multi-Recording Sleep Study (PSG) – polysomnography is the basic test for respiratory sleep disorders, both in diagnosis and treatment.
Early diagnosis and treatment of Sleep Apnea can prevent all long-term consequences of the syndrome and substantially improve the quality of life of sufferers.
Sleep apneas are characterized as:
It is a non-invasive method of recording biological parameters, such as snoring intensity, heart rate, encephalogram, haemoglobin saturation, respiratory effort and air flow into the mouth and nose. During the examination, the patient remains for at least one night in a specially designed room. The duration of the examination is about 8 hours and the recording is continuous and concerns the total duration of night sleep.
Sleep Laboratory is called the specially equipped space for the examination of people during sleep. The infrastructure of the room must ensure conditions of normal sleep, in an environment that resembles that of the house. It must have sound protection and stable temperature. These conditions are necessary in order to minimize any anxiety likely to disturb sleep in the person to be examined. The special equipment is easy to use, with minimal weight and does not cause any burden to the patient.
● People with day or night symptoms, indicative of sleep breathing disorder
● Patients with chronic respiratory diseases, such as COPD, asthma or pulmonary fibrosis
● Patients without pulmonary disease, but with an infestation of the respiratory system (e.g. neuromuscular diseases)
● People with morbid obesity who have respiratory symptoms or are about to be led to surgical treatment
● Patients with chronic heart diseases or with emerging atrial fibrillation of unknown aetiology or unregulated blood pressure
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