Home-Based Portable Monitor

Your doctor may recommend a home-based sleep test with a portable monitor. The portable monitor will record some of the same information as a PSG. For example, it may record:

• The amount of oxygen in your blood
• Air movement through your nose while you breathe
• Your heart rate
• Chest movements that show whether you're making an effort to breathe

A sleep specialist might use the results from a home-based sleep test to help diagnose sleep apnea. He or she also might use the results to see how well some treatments for sleep apnea are working.

Home-based testing is appropriate only for some people. Talk with your doctor to find out whether a portable monitor is an option for you. If your doctor recommends this test, you'll need to visit a sleep center or your doctor's office to pick up the equipment and learn how to use it.

Source: National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute