4815 Tilghman Street - Allentown, PA 18104      Phone: 610-973-8400 ~ Fax: 610-973-8401
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Sleep Disorders Center

Westfield Hospital’s Sleep Disorders Center



Conveniently located at 4825 W. Tilghman Street, Suite 104

Phone of Sleep Disorders Center: (610) 973-8464

Phone to schedule appointment: (610) 973-8464
or (610) 973-8400

If you are a physicians' office then please download the script here, complete, and FAX to (610) 366-9672.

Our Certified Sleep Tech will call your patient to schedule.


Do you suffer from any of these symptoms?

  • Excessive and/or loud snoring
  • Disturbing your bed partner
  • Always feeling tired
  • Falling asleep while driving
  • Waking tired or waking with a headache
  • Frequent trips to the bathroom during the night
  • High blood pressure or on medications for blood pressure
  • Depressed or on medications for depression
  • Sexual difficulties; Erectile Dysfunction
  • Awaken choking/gasping
  • Drowsiness while driving
  • Obesity or a BMI = to 27



Having trouble sleeping? So do 68 Million Americans.

The Sleep Disorders Center of Westfield Hospital is a comprehensive, state-of-the-art clinical facility, designed to diagnose and treat the spectrum of sleep disorders. This is a full service, adult sleep disorder center.
 
Under the direction of Jeffrey Gould, M.D., Westfield’s Sleep Disorder Center includes overnight studies. Dr. Gould has 13 years experience treating patients who suffer from an abnormal sleep. Jeff Gould, M.D. is Board Certified in Neurology and Sleep Medicine. He conveniently sees patients at 4825 W. Tilghman Street and in his Bethlehem office.

Also availlable on Westfield's campus is the Regional Lung and Sleep Clinic. Jameel Durrani, M.D. is Board Certified in Sleep Medicine, Pulmonology, and Internal Medicine. Dr. Durrani sees patients at 4825 W. Tilghman Street.

With both Dr. Durrani and Dr. Gould, Westfield provides a comprehensive center for treatment of sleep disorders and offers pre- and post-visits with either a neurologist or pulmonologist, both certified sleep specialists.

Nearly 70 million Americans have sleep-related complaints and about 60% have a chronic sleep disorder. Sleep disorders affect everyone; an incidence of 40% of adults snore, causing interruptions in sleep.

Westfield's Sleep Disorder Center encompasses the experience and skills of many specialties including neurology, psychiatry, otolaryngology, oral surgery, polysomnography, pulmonology,  respiratory care, and sleep medicine so that all aspects of a patient’s sleep problem can be addressed.

Sleep disorders involve any difficulties related to sleeping, including difficulty falling or staying asleep, falling asleep at inappropriate times, excessive total sleep time, or abnormal behaviors associated with sleep. Sleep disorders include a range of problems, from insomnia to narcolepsy, and affect millions of Americans.

Eighty (80%) to Ninety (90%) percent of all sleep disorders go undiagnosed. People with untreated Sleep Apnea are at three times increased risk of death and twice as likely to have a motor vehicle accident.

Are you having difficulty with your sleep? Loud snoring, daytime sleepiness, witnessed pauses in breathing or grunting while alseep, obesity, and drowsiness while driving are hallmark signs of Sleep Apnea.

Our phsycians will see you within 1 week to evaluate whether you are a candidate for a sleep study.

Call for an appointment if you suffer from a lack of sleep, too much sleep, or unusual sleep behaviors that are interfering with your life, including Restless Leg Syndrome.

Take the STOP BANG quiz to see if you might have Obstructive Sleep Apnea. Click here to open.

The DOT recommends that professional drivers are actively screened for obstructive sleep apnea disorder. See below for more information.

Table of Content

  1. About Sleep Disorders
  2. Insomnia
  3. Disorders of Excessive Sleepiness (Hypersomnias)
  4. Sleep Disruption Disorders
  5. Illnesses Associated with Sleep Apnea
  6. Diagnosing & Treating Sleep Disorders
  7. Prior to Your Study
  8. Polysomnography
  9. What to Expect When You Arrive for a Sleep Study
  10. Professional Drivers and Sleep Studies
  11. Additional Information


About Sleep Disorders

There are more than 100 different disorders of sleeping and waking which have been identified. The most common are Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA), Restless Leg Syndrome, Insomnia, and Sleep Walking/Talking. Studies have shown that 1 in 5 adults has at least mild OSA and 1 in 15 has moderate or severe OSA  Apnea exists when the throat closes partially or completely during sleep; the episodes last 10 seconds or longer and are associated with snoring.

The four major categories of Sleep Disorders include:
  • Problems with falling and staying asleep (Insomnia)
  • Problems with staying awake (excessive daytime sleepiness; Narcolepsy) 
  • Problems with maintaining a regular sleep schedule (sleep rhythm problem) 
  • Unusual behaviors during sleep (sleep-disruptive behaviors)
Insomnia

Insomnia includes any combination of difficulty falling asleep, staying asleep, intermittent wakefulness and waking too early.

Common factors associated with insomnia include:
  • Physical illness
  • Depression
  • Anxiety or stress
  • Poor sleeping environment
  • Caffeine
  • Alcohol or other drugs
  • Use of certain medications; for example, anti-depressants
  • Heavy smoking
  • Physical discomfort
  • Napping
  • Counterproductive sleep habits, such as going to bed too early or spending too much time in bed awake
  • Obesity
Disorders of Excessive Sleepiness (Hypersomnias)
  • Idiopathic hypersomnia (excessive sleepiness that occurs without an identifiable cause)
  • Narcolepsy
  • Obstructive and central sleep apnea
  • Periodic limb movement disorder
  • Restless leg syndrome
Sleep Disruption Disorders

Sleep problems may be caused by:
  • Illness or disease such as asthma, chronic pain, thyroid disease, excessive alcohol, Parkinson's Disease
  • Medications including anti-depressants, sleep medicines, pain relievers, cold remedies, asthma medications, and benzodiazepines
  • Severe stress and depression
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Illnesses Associated with Sleep Apnea

Heart disease, high blood pressure, erectile dysfunction, memory loss, and depression are strongly linked. Sleep-related breathing disorders are very common in patients with cardiovascular (heart) disease. Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) affects an estimated 15 million adult Americans and is present in a large proportion of patients with high blood pressure and in those with other cardiovascular disorders, such as coronary artery disease, stroke, and atrial fibrillation.

  • 50% of Diabetics also suffer from Sleep Apnea.
  • 50% of Congestive Heart Failure patients have Sleep Apnea.
  • 70% of patients who recently had a Stroke, and were undergoing rehab, were found to have Sleep Apnea.
  • 80% of patients with High Blood Pressure were found to have an underlying Sleep Apnea.
Westfield Hospital partners with the Heart Care Group. If medically necessary, then you may be referred to one of their cardiologists.

Diagnosing & Treating Sleep Disorders

Sleep studies will discover if you have a sleep disorder. Treatment can be started during the same study or during follow-up care with our Certified Sleep Specialist. Treatment may include nasal masks, dental appliances, surgery, weight loss, or positional therapy.

If you are diagnosed with Sleep Apnea then your Sleep Specialist may recommend CPAP therapy.
  • CPAP is more than 90% effective for the treatment of Sleep Apnea.
  • CPAP improves Blood Pressure by 10 points without medications.
  • CPAP reduces a person's risk of Stroke by 35%.
  • CPAP decreases the need for hospital admissions in patients with heart failure.
  • CPAP improves blood sugar control in patients with Diabetes.


Polysomnography

Polysomnography is a sleep study; a sleep study monitors you as you sleep. Polysomnography is an overnight sleep test designed to simultaneously and continuously monitor normal and abnormal physiological activity during sleep. There are diagnostic polysomnograms and therapeutic polysomnograms.

There are two stages of sleep:
  • Rapid eye movement (REM) sleep
  • Non-rapid eye movement (NREM) sleep
REM sleep is associated with dreaming. Your body muscles (except your eyes and lungs) do not move during this stage of sleep.

NREM sleep has four stages that can be detected by EEG waves.
REM sleep alternates with NREM sleep approximately every 90 minutes. A person with normal sleep usually has four to five cycles of REM and NREM sleep during a night.

A sleep study measures your sleep cycles and stages by recording the following information:
  • Blood oxygen levels
  • Body position
  • Brain waves (EEG)
  • Breathing rate
  • Electrical activity of muscles
  • Eye movement
  • Heart rate
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Prior to Your Study

Bathe and shampoo your hair before you arrive. Bring any medications with you that you normally take before bed. Discontinue any medications that your physician recommends. Avoid napping, caffeine, and alcohol the night of your sleep study. Bring comfortable two-piece clothing to wear.

What to Expect When You Arrive for Your Sleep Study

The technician will measure the dimensions of your head and mark landmarks on your scalp with a pencil. Then, wires with electrodes will be put into place for the EEG. Paste will be applied to each electrode; it serves to keep the wires in place as well as to better conduct  the electrical waves of your brain. Some of the wires on the face will be taped in place.

Other items the technician may include are a flat, plastic snore microphone taped to your neck, sticky pads on your chest to monitor your heart rhythm, stretchy cloth belts that go across the chest and stomach to measure breathing and/or sticky pads applied to your shins or forearms to monitor movements (an EMG). All of these wires will be connected to a small movable box.

Finally, just before going to bed, a nasal cannula, which is plastic tubing that sits in the nose, will be applied. It will not give you oxygen, but will measure airflow. Once you feel tired, the technician, who sits in another room, will monitor you as you privately and comfortably sleep.

The next morning, you will be awakened by the technician, equipment will be removed and you may continue your day. The sleep specialist will review all studies; your referring physician will receive your sleep test results, normally within 3 working days.

Professional Drivers and Sleep Studies

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) recommends the use of sleep disorder screening across all modes of transportation, air, rail, marine, and trucking, as part of a long-term effort to significantly reduce the negative effects of fatigue.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, "More than 100,000 annual car crashes are attributed to sleep disorders." Studies have shown an increasing prevalence of commercial truck drivers with untreated obstructive sleep apnea, as many as one-third of all professional drivers suffer from this ailment.

The Department of Transportation recommends that physicians actively screen for Obstructive Sleep Apnea Symptoms suggestive of obstructive sleep apnea include:
  • Chronic loud snoring
  • Witnessed apneas or breathing pauses during sleep
  • Daytime sleepiness
Risk factors for obstructive sleep apnea:
  • Advancing age
  • BMI > or = to 28
  • Small jaw
  • Large neck size (> 17 inches male; > 15.5 inches female)
  • Small airway
  • Family history of sleep apnea
Conditions known to be associated with a high risk of obstructive sleep apnea:
  • Hypertension or high blood pressure (treated or untreated)
  • Type 2 Diabetes (treated or untreated)
  • Hypothyroidism (untreated)

Westfield's Sleep Disorders Center will have the driver evaluated and tested within one week.
Our priority is to keep our nation's drivers safe and healthy; Westfield actively works with companies and their drivers to have them tested, insurances approved, and the driver treated for any documented sleep disorder.

For imformation about Westfield Hospital and Tilghman Medical Center's comprehensive Occupational Health services, contact 610-366-9000, ext. 242 or visit http://www.tilghmanmc.com/Occupational_Medicine.html


Patient Testimonials

"Great setting and the staff was polite and easy to work with. Kim (the Sleep Tech) followed up with me and offered good advice on the C-PAP machine. ~J. DeLeo, May, 2011

"The staff at the sleep clinic are great. Kim and Jason answered all my questions before we got started. They explained the entire process so that I knew what to expect throughout the night. I would say their bedside manner is second to none. The size of the center allowed for great personal attention. I would recommend Westfield Hospital to anyone. D. Bus, June 2011


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