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Heart rate/blood pressure questions
#1
Heart rate/blood pressure questions
My blood pressure and heart rate weren't really "high" before I started cpap 2 weeks ago. I have Type 2 Diabetes so I track this stuff pretty closely (in addition to my blood glucose). I haven't noticed any effect on my blood sugar yet.

However, my blood pressure used to be 128/78 fairly consistently (or around there) and my resting heart rate has been 85 for years now. I came to accept this as normal. But since about the 3rd day on cpap, my blood pressure has been consistently 105/55 (or around there) and my resting heart rate is around 60. I thought maybe my home blood pressure cuff was just broken, but I saw my Primary Care Physician on Friday and my heart rate was 60 and my blood pressure was 104/58.

Has anyone else seen such an incredible change after 2 WEEKS of cpap usage? I mean, it's great, don't get me wrong, but I guess I wasn't expecting dramatic improvement since my AHI was only 5 (mild apnea) and I had to fight for a machine. My RDI was 36, but all the doctors I've seen indicate that this has no bearing on how I feel (I'm starting to think they are full of it, though).
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#2
RE: Heart rate/blood pressure questions
Too many doctors (my primary doc included) don't seem to understand anything other than "how do you feel today?" "Fine," I always answer, "How do you feel?"

I'm not surprised at your good experience with the blood pressure results. Therapy has helped mine as well. It's really amazing the number of things that treatment for sleep apnea can help with, and how quickly that can happen. But don't tell the docs. They only want to know how you feel.

Oh... and the RDI of 36 having no bearing on how you feel? Yeah, maybe not. But it sure had a bearing on your blood pressure, didn't it?
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#3
RE: Heart rate/blood pressure questions
there are a lot of heart related things that improve on cpap. Heart rate, BP, PVCs if you have them. Pretty much stopped mine and my Afib also. Constant adrenaline hits to your heart all night due to apnea cause alot of problems that improve once the apnea is under control.
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#4
RE: Heart rate/blood pressure questions
(03-07-2015, 04:25 PM)retired_guy Wrote: Too many doctors (my primary doc included) don't seem to understand anything other than "how do you feel today?" "Fine," I always answer, "How do you feel?"

I'm not surprised at your good experience with the blood pressure results. Therapy has helped mine as well. It's really amazing the number of things that treatment for sleep apnea can help with, and how quickly that can happen. But don't tell the docs. They only want to know how you feel.

Oh... and the RDI of 36 having no bearing on how you feel? Yeah, maybe not. But it sure had a bearing on your blood pressure, didn't it?

Well, I got a pulse oximeter last August to try to determine if I had sleep apnea (these results are completed discounted by all 4 doctors that I saw) and what I can see from Sleepyhead is this:

During the 3 months that I was monitoring with just the Pulse Oximeter, I averaged:

Average SpO2%: 95.89
Min SpO2%:70
SpO2 Drop Index: 13.26
% ov Time in SpO2 Drop: 17.32%

Average Pulse:81.83
Min Pulse Rate: 55
Max Pulse Rate: 147
Pulse Change Index:44.95

The last two weeks (with cpap):
Average SpO2%: 98.01
Min SpO2%:87
SpO2 Drop Index: .84
% of Time in SpO2 Drop: .44%

Average Pulse:63.95
Min Pulse Rate: 45
Max Pulse Rate: 110
Pulse Change Index:16.14

My RDI is now fairly close to my AHI (around 2-3 now) and I damn straight do feel better. I used to wake up in the morning late, feeling like death. The alarm could barely wake me. Now I wake up about 5 minutes before the alarm goes off, feeling pretty good. I am still tired a lot, but it's not "I must go to sleep now or die" tired. Just kind of "I could nap".




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#5
RE: Heart rate/blood pressure questions
The pulse ox pretty much tells the story, doesn't it?

Sadly, there is no read-out for "how are you feeling?" so the results might not be analyzable to the well trained physician.
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#6
RE: Heart rate/blood pressure questions
RDI has no bearing? Respiratory Effort Related Arousal (RERA) - the very name indicates 'it disturbs my sleep'. What are those MDs smoking? How could this not affect the way you feel and the quality of your sleep?

I am so glad you pressed for the right to have better health.

QAL
Dedicated to QALity sleep.
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#7
RE: Heart rate/blood pressure questions
(03-08-2015, 05:43 AM)quiescence at last Wrote: RDI has no bearing? Respiratory Effort Related Arousal (RERA) - the very name indicates 'it disturbs my sleep'. What are those MDs smoking? How could this not affect the way you feel and the quality of your sleep?

I am so glad you pressed for the right to have better health.

QAL

I learned a long time ago that doctors do not know everything (no offense to any actual doctors here) and if they are dismissing you, it's not the doctor for you. I started snoring intensely and stopping breathing in my sleep when I was pregnant with my twins (they are 20 months old). I gave it about a year after they were born for things to settle down, but my husband said, if anything, my snoring got worse. So I got a pulse oximeter and started trying to figure it out. My AHI on the little report was always between 6 and 10, so I thought I might have sleep apnea. First doctor I went to said I should expect to be tired with twins (THEY sleep 12 hours night, there is no reason I should be tired after 8!!!). So, next doctor I went to said that I was too young for sleep apnea and it was probably allergies. Had a whole allergy panel done and I'm not allergic to anything. (had an appt with a primary care guy in there that also said "have you ever thought that you are tired because you have twins")

3rd doctor gave me a sleep study... AHI was 5 and RDI was 15. Snoring events were 678 or something. He said I don't have sleep apnea and I should try a sleeping pill (um, no) and a dental appliance (not covered by insurance).

So, I went to another doctor, who gave me another sleep study - AHI was 5, RDI 36, snoring occurred 39% of the time, 16% of the time it was VERY LOUD (which my husband could tell you). He said "well you do have very mild sleep apnea, but your insurance won't do anything for you unless your AHI was higher than 10 or so, so you should try to have surgery to eliminate snoring" (to my knowledge, he never submitted anything to my insurance to find out if they would actually cover it)

So I went to the 5th doctor to see about having the surgery - which my insurance company actually doesn't pay for - and he said that the insurance company SHOULD pay for a cpap since I'm symptomatic (falling asleep at my desk, chronic fatigue, just feeling like death, AND I have Type 2 Diabetes). So, he submitted it to the insurance and viola! They approved it after all. But he's an ENT and is more experienced with surgery than cpap titeration.

Except for the 5th doctor, they all kind of made me feel like I was a hypochondriac, like I should expect to feel like sh*t all the time because I have twins. If anything, I was cheating my sons out of a mom that has any energy - they were not the cause.




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#8
RE: Heart rate/blood pressure questions
I'm glad you're noticing positive changes. I know my BP has been steadily improving.
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#9
RE: Heart rate/blood pressure questions
"If anything, I was cheating my sons out of a mom that has any energy"

Yeah, as opposed to cheating your sons out of having a mom because of untreated sleep apnea.

WAY good job persevering. Good mom (hands her a biscuit) Good mom...................
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#10
RE: Heart rate/blood pressure questions
I am glad that your blood pressure and resting heart rate have improved. Not everyone has had such great results though. I don't know if my BP would be even higher if I never used cpap but using cpap never lowered my BP either. As far as PVCS being helped that is also not true. After being on cpap for years I developed severe PVCS. I am just happy I breathe when I sleep with my cpap.
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