Pulmonary Sleep Medicine Program

Many people struggle with chronic sleep deficiency due to an untreated sleep disorder. The Sleep Medicine Program at Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi is a multispecialty, comprehensive program dedicated to the diagnosis and treatment of sleep disorders within the setting of a state-of-the-art sleep laboratory. The Program’s multidisciplinary team includes physicians certified by the American Board of Sleep Medicine who specialize in the diagnosis and treatment of respiratory and sleep disorders.

What We Treat

Sleep is an integral part of a healthy life. Low-quality sleep can lead to poor health, which can contribute to the development of a number of chronic diseases, including cardiovascular disease, obesity, and diabetes.

The most common symptoms of sleep disorders include:

• Daytime sleepiness
• Trouble falling or staying asleep
• Restless legs while falling asleep
• Irregular or halted breathing while sleeping, known as sleep apnea.

Patients are often diagnosed after a sleep study, which is used to gather data on the patient’s sleep state, eye movement, muscle activity, and heart rate. These studies are usually performed in the hospital’s sleep clinic, but in certain cases, testing can be done at the patient’s home.

Diagnosis of Sleep Disorders

Patients experiencing poor-quality and unrefreshing sleep, or who have unusual difficulty remaining awake, will be evaluated by one of Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi’s sleep consultants.

One of the diagnostic tests available is a polysomnogram, or a sleep study. The polysomnogram typically requires an overnight stay in a sleep laboratory at the hospital under the supervision of trained medical staff. During testing, several of the patient’s body functions are recorded, including electrical activity in the brain, eye movements, muscle activity, heart rate, breathing patterns, air flow, and blood oxygen levels.

Patients may undergo other types of tests, including:

• Multiple sleep latency test (MSLT): This test is performed during the day to establish the reasons behind profound sleepiness.
• Maintenance of wakefulness test (MWT): This test measures the patient’s alertness during the day.

Tests such as the MSLT and the MWT may need to be repeated several times for an accurate diagnosis.

Treatment of Sleep Disorders

Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi’s Pulmonary Sleep Medicine Program treats the following sleep disorders:

• Sleep apnea
• Insomnia
• Narcolepsy
• REM (rapid eye movement) behavior disorder
• Restless leg syndrome.

After reviewing the patient’s test results and diagnosing a sleep disorder, the physician will develop an individualized treatment plan for the patient with the goal of restoring normal sleeping patterns.