Free check
His snoring, your blood pressure.
In a new clinical trial, people who slept next to an untreated snorer with sleep apnea saw their own blood pressure climb in three months. When the snorer got treated, it didn't. Answer a few questions about the person next to you. It takes thirty seconds.
Rick Pescatore, DO. Board-certified emergency physician, Editor-in-Chief of Emergency Medicine News, former Chief Physician of the Delaware Division of Public Health.
At night, do they…
During the day, do they…
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Drowsy driving is the one sign that can't wait. Call their doctor this week, and until then, someone else drives when they're tired.
Four steps from "he snores" to an answer.
- Say this to their doctor.
Primary care can order a sleep study. One sentence gets it started:
My partner has seen me stop breathing in my sleep. I'd like to be tested for sleep apnea.
- Know the two kinds of test.
Home sleep test
A small device worn for one night in your own bed. The usual first test for adults who likely have moderate or severe apnea and no major heart or lung disease.
Sleep labOne night in a sleep center, wired up while you sleep. Used when other conditions are in play, or when a home test comes back normal but the symptoms don't.
- Find an accredited sleep center.
The American Academy of Sleep Medicine keeps a directory of every accredited center, and it shows which ones do home testing.
Find a center near you ↗ - Ask about cost before the night.
Most insurance, Medicare included, covers a sleep study a doctor orders for symptoms like these. A home test usually costs far less than a night in the lab, so ask which one they're ordering.
If it is sleep apnea, the mask (CPAP) is the standard treatment, and it's the one the trial tested. It isn't the only one: a dentist-fitted mouthpiece, sleeping position, weight loss, and for some people a weight-loss medicine now approved for sleep apnea are all on the table.
Three months next to untreated apnea.
Researchers took 63 couples in which one partner had moderate or severe sleep apnea. Half of the snorers got a CPAP machine. The other half got nasal strips, which served as the placebo. Then the researchers measured the person in the other half of the bed.
Partners of the treated snorers also slept better, woke up less often, and were less sleepy during the day. One thing didn't change overall: how well their blood vessels relaxed, except when the snorer wore the mask six or more hours a night.
A few points sounds small. Across years and across millions of people, a few points of blood pressure is the difference doctors prescribe pills to close, because it shows up later as strokes and heart attacks.
Is all snoring sleep apnea?
No. Plenty of people snore without ever stopping breathing. The trial studied snorers who had moderate or severe sleep apnea, and that's who the blood pressure finding applies to. Breathing pauses, gasping, and daytime sleepiness are what separate apnea from plain snoring.
Is this check a diagnosis?
No. It lists the signs doctors ask about. Only a sleep study can tell you whether it's apnea and how severe it is.
Will nasal strips or earplugs fix it?
In this trial, the nasal strips were the placebo, and the partners next to them saw their blood pressure go up. Earplugs may help you sleep through the noise, but they don't fix what's happening to the person snoring.
What if they won't go?
Tell them it's for you too. In the trial, the partner's sleep and blood pressure moved with the snorer's treatment. Sending them this page is a start.
Do you save my answers?
No. The check runs entirely in your browser. Your taps aren't sent to us or anyone else, and they're gone when you close the page.
Get them tested. It's your heart too.
Back to the checkThis free check is for education. It doesn't diagnose sleep apnea or any other condition, and it doesn't replace a doctor's evaluation. Chest pain, trouble breathing while awake, or new weakness or confusion is an emergency: call 911. BellyMD makes dietary supplements, and Dr. Pescatore is its founder. Nothing on this page is for sale, and nothing BellyMD sells treats sleep apnea.