Hello Guest, Welcome to Apnea Board !
As a guest, you are limited to certain areas of the board and there are some features you can't use.
To post a message, you must create a free account using a valid email address.

or Create an Account


New Posts   Today's Posts

Does CPAP also treat central sleep apnea (csa)?
#1
Does CPAP also treat central sleep apnea (csa)?
Hi all,

I was recently diagnosed with apnea after a sleep test. My AHI =21 (The obstructive AHI = 13  central =8)

For a few days now I'm on a CPAP, and getting events per hour of around 3. Hardly any OA and mainly from clear airway events.

It's unclear to me why my events per hour is alot lower with the CPAP than the central events measured by the sleep test

- Is the CPAP also treating (reducing) central sleep apnea?


Thanks,

LetMeZz
Post Reply Post Reply
#2
RE: Does CPAP also treat central sleep apnea (csa)?
Welcome to the Apnea Board,

I suppose for some just having CPAP can help with Centrals a bit. But Central Apnea has a trait members here call consistently inconsistent. The CA will be up or down randomly per night despite no therapy changes.

Best suggestion is get the free report tool OSCAR and keep track of your events in detail. Looking at the report on your PC, then you can post a screenshot after an F12 shot is taken.

If Central Apnea trend to be high and uncontrolled then you will need a specialized PAP called ASV. I recommend ResMed's AirCurve 10 ASV if it is needed.

Things you can do now to minimize CA is turn off Ramp and you may need to edit EPR. But again it's best to see OSCAR data before edit suggestions.
INFORMATION ON APNEA BOARD FORUMS OR ON APNEABOARD.COM SHOULD NOT BE CONSIDERED MEDICAL ADVICE. ALWAYS SEEK THE ADVICE OF A PHYSICIAN BEFORE SEEKING TREATMENT FOR MEDICAL CONDITIONS, INCLUDING SLEEP APNEA. INFORMATION POSTED ON THE APNEA BOARD WEBSITE AND FORUMS ARE PERSONAL OPINION ONLY AND NOT NECESSARILY A STATEMENT OF FACT.
Post Reply Post Reply
#3
RE: Does CPAP also treat central sleep apnea (csa)?
Hi LetMezz!  -  Welcome

The CAs you are experiencing could be treatment induced.  CAs can occur by having CO2 washout.  If they are less than 20 seconds per event, then I would see if they diminish as your treatment continues over time.  

- Red
Crimson Nape
Apnea Board Moderator
www.ApneaBoard.com
___________________________________
Useful Links -or- When All Else Fails:
The Guide to Understanding OSCAR
OSCAR Chart Organization
Attaching Images and Files on Apnea Board
Apnea Helpful Tips

INFORMATION ON APNEA BOARD FORUMS OR ON APNEABOARD.COM SHOULD NOT BE CONSIDERED AS MEDICAL ADVICE. ALWAYS SEEK THE ADVICE OF A PHYSICIAN BEFORE SEEKING TREATMENT FOR MEDICAL CONDITIONS, INCLUDING SLEEP APNEA. INFORMATION POSTED ON THE APNEA BOARD WEB SITE AND FORUMS ARE PERSONAL OPINION ONLY AND NOT NECESSARILY A STATEMENT OF FACT.
Post Reply Post Reply
#4
RE: Does CPAP also treat central sleep apnea (csa)?
Basic CPAP can treat central apnea depending on the case. It is the first line of treatment especially in cases like yours where there are also obstructive issues, if it fails more advanced treatments like ASV should be considered.
Post Reply Post Reply
#5
RE: Does CPAP also treat central sleep apnea (csa)?
In both the sleep study and now, in your early days with CPAP, the CAs may just reflect choppy sleep.  What can happen is that you have a brief arousal, which washes out enough CO2 to reduce your drive to breathe, and then you pause your breathing until enough CO2 accumulates to trigger a breath.  You'll have a CA flagged if you pause for 10 seconds between breaths.  The negative here isn't really the CA itself; it's the arousal.

If you can use the Oscar software, you'll be able to look at your flow rate to see whether you're having that arousal/CA pattern.  It will look something like the attached, with some high-amplitude and disorganized breathing (arousal) followed by a CA.

With any luck at all, you'll sleep more soundly, with fewer arousals, once you get used to the new CPAP experience.


Attached Files Thumbnail(s)
   
Post Reply Post Reply
#6
RE: Does CPAP also treat central sleep apnea (csa)?
To be clear on the OP's original question,

NO, CA cannot be "Treated" with a CPAP, APAP, BiLevel without backup.

We can potentially cause (Treatment-Emergent) or avoid Centrals by not doing actions (Increasing differential pressures or raising pressures) that can both cause central apneas and treat obstructive events..
Post Reply Post Reply
#7
RE: Does CPAP also treat central sleep apnea (csa)?
cpap, apap and bilevel are not designed to treat ca. the best we an do by design with cpap and apap is to tweak settings to try to avoid pressure induced ca. resmed bilevel has a setting that can help to a limited degree but it's an 'off-label' tweak that resmed doesn't acknowledge.

that said, I was diagnosed in 1987 with central apnea; no treatment available at the time. in 2016 my sleep test reported near equal numbers of events - something like 204 oa and 198 ca. as seems to be typical, I was prescribed apap despite almost 50% ca. here's the thing: apap brought my ahi down from 72.x to around 6, so clearly it had significant impact on both my oa and ca. noone has been able to explain this but there it is.

as it happens, it wasn't enough of an improvement to satisfy me so I moved on to other modalities without the sleep doctor. however, although the apap's reduction of my ca is unexplained, it's indisputable.
  Shy   I have no particular qualifications or expertise with respect to the apnea/cpap/sleep related content of my posts beyond my own user experiences and what I've learned from others on this site. Each of us bears the burden of evaluating the validity and applicability of what we read here before acting on it.  
 
Post Reply Post Reply
#8
RE: Does CPAP also treat central sleep apnea (csa)?
Just to emphasize what is probably already clear: there’s no reason to think you have central (or mixed) apnea and no reason to worry about how to treat it.
Post Reply Post Reply
#9
RE: Does CPAP also treat central sleep apnea (csa)?
8 ca in your sleep test aren't a lot but having them (and more ca than oa) before using cpap tells us the ca aren't treatment emergent or pressure induced and that you may be prone to them. not currently enough to worry about but they occur inconsistently so keep an eye on them and how you feel if/as they come and go.
  Shy   I have no particular qualifications or expertise with respect to the apnea/cpap/sleep related content of my posts beyond my own user experiences and what I've learned from others on this site. Each of us bears the burden of evaluating the validity and applicability of what we read here before acting on it.  
 
Post Reply Post Reply
#10
RE: Does CPAP also treat central sleep apnea (csa)?
(03-05-2022, 01:44 PM)Gideon Wrote: NO, CA cannot be "Treated" with a CPAP, APAP, BiLevel without backup.

Gotta disagree as I know of some studies that support it. Uptodate (a doctors resource) even has a potential mechanism of action that makes some sense. The theory is that it reduces pharyngeal narrowing that occurs during central apnea (aka keeps airway more open during the central apnea) which makes it easier and quicker to initiate the next breath reducing recovery breathing amplitude and ventilatory overshoot which as we know causes follow up CO2 driven centrals. In short it won't stop/treat all centrals but it can help avoid getting stuck with repeating central apnea.

I think we sometimes get swayed by primarily seeing members that are struggling to get adequate treatment and not seeing all the ones that are adequately treated by such machines. There is a reason it is the first recommended treatment and more invasive treatments like ASV are only preferred when necessary. I actually agree with this process especially considering the cost difference in machines, I just wish many doctors were more willing to use ASV when it is indicated.
Post Reply Post Reply


Possibly Related Threads...
Thread Author Replies Views Last Post
  please help me make sense of my central apneas p4ncaketim 24 544 12 minutes ago
Last Post: p4ncaketim
  Apnea has gotten worse recently, I have no sleep study, can I just buy a cpcp? replayablecontent 12 228 Yesterday, 12:38 PM
Last Post: replayablecontent
Sad [Treatment] Struggling to treat UARS with BIPAP Humancyclone7 0 63 Yesterday, 12:05 PM
Last Post: Humancyclone7
  Central while on ASV Boodmaster 11 2,515 03-26-2024, 02:37 AM
Last Post: Boodmaster
  Collars for positional sleep apnea Jimasripper 17 351 03-25-2024, 10:05 PM
Last Post: Deborah K.
  [Treatment] Clear airway / central apnea events -- causes and solutions? mitzvahtime 6 2,398 03-25-2024, 04:10 PM
Last Post: Jay51
  Invisalign to help sleep apnea and dental extractions as a cause of sleep apnea SingleH 10 612 03-24-2024, 07:00 PM
Last Post: stevew168


New Posts   Today's Posts


About Apnea Board

Apnea Board is an educational web site designed to empower Sleep Apnea patients.