Baystate Mary Lane Hospital Opens New Neurodiagnostic and Sleep Center

WARE — The Baystate Neurodiagnos-tic and Sleep Center has opened a sleep laboratory at Baystate Mary Lane Hospital in Ware. The sleep laboratory offers 16-channel polysomnography sleep studies, and is located in a newly renovated, quiet, comfortable, state-of-the-art diagnostic suite located on the fourth floor of the hospital.

About 700 million Americans suffer from a sleep problem. Among them, nearly 60{06cf2b9696b159f874511d23dbc893eb1ac83014175ed30550cfff22781411e5} have a chronic disorder. Sleep problems affect men and women of every age, race, and socioeconomic class. Despite this widespread prevalence, most cases remain undiagnosed and untreated.

Nationally, the most studied sleep disorder is sleep apnea, a cessation of breathing during sleep that is the major cause of excessive daytime sleepiness. It is the second-most-common sleep disorder after insomnia and affects about 20 million Americans. It is associated with high blood pressure, coronary heart disease, heart attack, pulmonary hypertension, congestive heart failure, stroke, neuropsychiatric problems, mental impairment, and injury from accidents.

The new sleep lab offers high-tech testing for patients with a variety of sleep disorders, including sleep apnea, narcolepsy, chronic insomnia, restless legs syndrome, and snoring. Sleep studies are available primarily on an outpatient basis; however, designated areas of the hospital also have the ability to offer studies to people who are inpatients

Sleep studies, or polysomnographic (PSG) studies, are a series of tests that evaluate what happens to the body during sleep, recording brain waves, electrical activity of muscles, eye movement, breathing rate, blood pressure, blood oxygen saturation, heart rhythm, and direct observation of the person during sleep.

Sleep studies are carried out during the night so that normal sleep patterns can be reproduced; however, studies may be conducted during the day to accommodate nigh shift workers. Electrodes are placed on the scalp, the outer edge of the eyelids, and the skin of the chin in preparation for the test. Monitors are used to record the heart and breathing rate of the patient and are attached to the chest.

All sleep studies are reviewed by Dr. Jay Fleitman, a BMLH pulmonologist. Fleitman works with the board-certified sleep specialists in neurology and pulmonology at Baystate’s Neurodiagnostic and Sleep Center, as well as experienced sleep technicians and respiratory therapists, for a complete interpretation of the sleep study.

Once the results have been reviewed and interpreted, a report is sent to the referring physician. Patients follow up with their referring physician, who will then review the results of the sleep study and make necessary recommendations. The Baystate Neurodiagnostic and Sleep Center in Springfield recently received accreditation from the American Academy of Sleep Medicine.