Please help me interpret this data section from Sleepyhead.

I woke up last night an hour into sleep with a very rapid and strong heartbeat. It felt really uncomfortable. I took my mask off and went downstairs for a couple minutes.

Here is my data from that time at night. Shows no hypopnea or apnea.

I am curious about whether or not I had my mask on during the flat line leading up to the vibratory snore or if I had already taken it off. Can anyone decipher this from the graph? I would think that since it is so flat and no apnea/hypopnea was flagged, that the mask must have been off.

Any thoughts on this? Not sure why this incident would wake me with a rapid heart.

Can you please include the leak rate graph for same time period?

Pugsy wrote:Can you please include the leak rate graph for same time period?

Hi Pugsy. It's been added up top.

I think the flat flow rate graph is big leak affecting the machine's ability to sense air flow...so I think you probably had the mask off during that flat line.

my thought is that if the mask pressure is even a little bit accurate, you had to have your mask on, otherwise, the mask pressure would have dropped. mask pressure should be actual pressure, whereas the pressure trace is desired pressure settings.

it would be better if you didn't cut and paste bits here, and bits there...

arrange the graphs and do a full screen shot.

palerider wrote:my thought is that if the mask pressure is even a little bit accurate, you had to have your mask on, otherwise, the mask pressure would have dropped. mask pressure should be actual pressure, whereas the pressure trace is desired pressure settings.

it would be better if you didn't cut and paste bits here, and bits there...

arrange the graphs and do a full screen shot.

My thought is that IF my mask was on and I was not breathing, there would at LEAST have been a flagged hypopnea, if not an apnea.

Sorry I couldn't arrange the charts in a prettier fashion, I had to rush out the door this morning for work.

icipher wrote:My thought is that IF my mask was on and I was not breathing, there would at LEAST have been a flagged hypopnea, if not an apnea.

It would have been flagged unless the leak was so big the machine didn't sense it and when leaks go over 100 L/min (which yours did but it looks like mask removal totally) the machine simply doesn't have a clue what is going on and flow rate and pressures go all whacko.

Still looks like big leak/mask removal to me.

Pugsy wrote:

icipher wrote:My thought is that IF my mask was on and I was not breathing, there would at LEAST have been a flagged hypopnea, if not an apnea.

It would have been flagged unless the leak was so big the machine didn't sense it and when leaks go over 100 L/min (which yours did but it looks like mask removal totally) the machine simply doesn't have a clue what is going on and flow rate and pressures go all whacko.

Still looks like big leak/mask removal to me.

could be.. but that makes me not trust the mask pressure lines on the 960.... because mask pressure should have dropped to zero at a mask off situation.

and that straight line leak increase looks weird..

of course, it'd be easy enough to test... mask up, let it run for a few minutes, take off mask, check data, see what it looks like.

Considering the event lasts for 1 minute 30 seconds, I think if it was real, you would have noticed.

palerider wrote: and that straight line leak increase looks weird..

Yeah...I know it looks weird.
If I have time I will dig out my 760 and do some experiments to see what happens.
Also I don't know if OP is using auto off/on. The PR S1 blows for 60 seconds and then cuts off when auto off is turned on.
That might explain the weird mask pressure graph.

Pugsy wrote:

palerider wrote: and that straight line leak increase looks weird..

Yeah...I know it looks weird.
If I have time I will dig out my 760 and do some experiments to see what happens.
Also I don't know if OP is using auto off/on. The PR S1 blows for 60 seconds and then cuts off when auto off is turned on.
That might explain the weird mask pressure graph.

My machine will auto turn on, but it does not auto turn off. Meaning, if i take my mask off and go downstairs for 10 minutes, my machine will still be blowing when i come back up.

Okay...if auto off is turned off....that means the machine will of course keep blowing even if mask is off and it will not be able to sense air flow and thus whatever it shows or records on the graphs is not valid data during that time frame because it will think a big leak is happening.
I have seen bipap autos turn into fixed cpap when big prolonged big leaks happen...and they don't sense anything and the flow rate goes flat.

I doubt very seriously that your 960 ASV machine would let a flat line obstructive apnea lasting well over a minute (that it didn't flag either) continue without some sort of response.

Pugsy wrote:Okay...if auto off is turned off....that means the machine will of course keep blowing even if mask is off and it will not be able to sense air flow and thus whatever it shows or records on the graphs is not valid data during that time frame because it will think a big leak is happening.
I have seen bipap autos turn into fixed cpap when big prolonged big leaks happen...and they don't sense anything and the flow rate goes flat.

I doubt very seriously that your 960 ASV machine would let a flat line obstructive apnea lasting well over a minute (that it didn't flag either) continue without some sort of response.

Agreed, and would you feel confident in saying that I was not having a central episode here?

icipher wrote: Agreed, and would you feel confident in saying that I was not having a central episode here?

I don't think it was any sort of apnea event...but I can't prove it. The leak that is present during this time could either make the machine not be able to sense properly and thus not respond properly (and we see that the pressure line essentially does nothing) and if it had been a central your machine should have done its usual massive rapid increase in response..and it didn't do anything.

I think the flat line is relate to mask being off and the machine not sensing any airflow at all...but I can't prove it.

You could do some experiments while awake if you have the time to see if you can duplicate the results and know for sure you took the mask off.
You know....use it for 5 minutes and then remove the mask and let the machine run and see what shows up on the reports.

Pugsy wrote:

icipher wrote: Agreed, and would you feel confident in saying that I was not having a central episode here?

I don't think it was any sort of apnea event...but I can't prove it. The leak that is present during this time could either make the machine not be able to sense properly and thus not respond properly (and we see that the pressure line essentially does nothing) and if it had been a central your machine should have done its usual massive rapid increase in response..and it didn't do anything.

I think the flat line is relate to mask being off and the machine not sensing any airflow at all...but I can't prove it.

You could do some experiments while awake if you have the time to see if you can duplicate the results and know for sure you took the mask off.
You know....use it for 5 minutes and then remove the mask and let the machine run and see what shows up on the reports.

Thanks for the insight. I will try the test tonight when I am home. The thing that's leaving me scratching my head is that at this time last night I woke up with a really fast heart beat.

The frustrating thing about having apnea, especially CSA, is that I can never seem to pinpoint for sure what goes on. There seem to be no absolutes. So many uncertainties in this "business".

On another note, I started using sleepyhead a few weeks ago after over a year with Encore. It's amazing how much more advanced it is.