CPAP treatment and heart rate

by Kalee
(aiken)

My grandmother is supposed to be sleeping with a CPAP machine, unfortunately she does not use it every time she is napping or nightly. Lately her heart rate has been extremely low.

The doctor told her that it was that low because she was not using her cpap. I strongly disagree because she had 2 stents put in 3 weeks ago and has not gotten any better with her breathing or pulse they believe she needs a pacemaker.

My question is: by not using your cpap machine wouldn't you heart rate rise than lower when not using a cpap?

Answer

Dear Kalee,

The name of the disorder when the heart is beating too slow is named bradycardia. Sleep apnea makes the heart beating strange; however, the heart rate is not necessarily rising when a patient has sleep apnea.

In fact, the blood pressure - and not the heart rate - is rising in every patient with an untreated sleep disorder. High blood pressure is often diagnosed very late, when the person has already serious side effects from it. That's why the high blood pressure or hypertension is also called "the silent killer".

The heart rate in patients with sleep apnea is a more complicated problem. Heart rate responses to airway obstruction can vary among patients due to differences in severity of some factors, such as:

• hypoxia - when the body is deprived of adequate oxygen supply,


• chemosensitivity,


• the influence of hypoxia on the sinoatrial node from the heart - the pacemaker that generates the rhythm of the heart.

Scientists found that the heart rate of Pickwickian patients (people with obstructive apnea due to obesity) changed drastically, becoming slower during the apnea episodes and very high when breathing resumed.

A study of chemoreflex-baroreflex interactions in divers demonstrated that bradycardia accompany the breath-holding divers. They have similar effects with sleep apnea patients: bradycardia, a rise in blood pressure, and vasoconstriction.

If you hold your breath at the end of expiration, you may feel that the heart rate is not rising, but...decreasing. And after you start breathing again, your heart rate will raise again (it depends of how much CO2 you have in your body).

From a clinical perspective, it is important for your grandmother to use CPAP every time she goes to sleep, even when she takes a nap during the day. CPAP rather than pacemaker implantation is preferred for the initial therapy.


Kalee, I hope it helps. Don't be afraid to comment back.

Remy
www.sleep-apnea-guide.com

Please remember...what is posted on these forums are our experiences, thoughts and opinions...it is not always 100% accurate.