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Sleep Medicine

Dallas County Hospital contracts with SomniTech to provide in hospital Sleep Studies right here at Dallas County Hospital. Home sleep tests are also available with a physician order.

Sleep studies are tests that monitor breathing while you are asleep and are often used to diagnose sleep apnea. Sleep apnea is diagnosed when an adult or child regularly stops breathing during sleep for 10 seconds or longer. This pattern of stopped breathing is repeated frequently throughout the night. This may be caused by blocked airflow during sleep, such as from narrowed airways. Or it may be caused by a problem with how the brain signals the breathing muscles to work. Sleep apnea symptoms include:

  • Loud snoring
  •  Excessive daytime fatigue
  • Gasping/choking at night
  • Morning headaches
  • Memory loss
  • Non-refreshing sleep
  • Irritability

Left untreated, sleep apnea may lead to any or all of the following:

  • High blood pressure
  • Heart failure
  • Heart attack
  • Reflux disease (GERD)
  • Depression
  • Diabetes (Type 2)
  • Stroke

Your doctor or primary care provider can order a sleep test; you do not need to see a specialist.
For more information, please call 515-465-7686 or 515-465-7617.