Cardiovascular Health and Respiratory Training Study
What We Specialize In
Overnight Polysomnography
The term overnight polysomnography refers to a sleep study performed in a sleep laboratory. This type of study provides information about the quality and duration of one night’s sleep, but also can be used to obtain information about breathing patterns during the night, including any snoring (also known as an hypopnea) or occasions when breathing ceases altogether (also known as an apnea). Overnight sleep studies are used to determine the number of apneas and hypopneas a person experiences each night and which is referred to as the Apnea-Hypopnea Index or AHI, as well as information about total sleep time, time spent in different sleep stages and number of times that the individual awakened during the night. These data are collated into a report which provides a detailed snap-shot of sleep quality, AHI, and total sleep time.
24-hour Blood Pressure Monitoring
24-hour blood pressure monitoring. A wearable device (SOMNOtouch NIBP) that is worn on the wrist and index finger and used to monitor blood pressure, heart rate and wakefulness on a continuous basis throughout a 24-hour period. The device provides us information about blood pressure and heart rate during usual activities of daily living and continuously overnight. These data are collated into a report which provides a detailed picture of average, peak and low blood pressures over a 24-hour period.
Muscle Sympathetic Nerve Activity (MSNA)
MSNA is a direct measure of nerve activity that regulates blood supply to skeletal muscle. Muscle sympathetic nerve activities are recorded from nerves in the lower leg during quiet rest. The activity levels play a key role in the regulation of your blood pressure.
Flow-Mediated Dilation (FMD)
Flow-mediated dilation (FMD) refers to dilation of a blood vessel in response to an increase in blood flow through it. FMD measures are obtained via a blood pressure cuff placed around the forearm and inflated. After 5 minutes of inflation, the pressure in the cuff is quickly released and the rapid increase in blood flow through the arm stimulates the vessel to expand to accommodate. FMD is a measure of the extent of the expansion and is obtained non-invasively via ultrasound. The measure provides a good indicator of overall vascular health. FMD is assessed under resting conditions (lying quietly) and includes assessments following infusion of saline, Vitamin C administration and administration of nitroglycerine.
Pulse Wave Velocity (PWV)
Pulse Wave Velocity (PWV) is a measure of arterial stiffness. PWV is measured using a tonometer, which is a pen-like device that detects pulse pressure through the skin. The tonometer is placed on the skin overlying the carotid artery in the neck to measure the carotid pulse and over the femoral artery in the upper leg/groin area to measure the femoral pulse. The difference in the timing between the pulses in the two locations provides an estimate of large vessel stiffness another indicator of general vascular health.