ASV: What setting is responsible for helping obstructions

I have an Auto ASV machine and wanted to know what pressure setting is most responsible for stopping tongue obstructions in the mouth? Would it be the "PS" or the "EPAP" settings?

Is it the:

Max PS
Min PS
Max EPAP
Min EPAP

EPAP is what is mainly used for holding the airway open or preventing the obstructive apneas from happening because of collapsing airway tissues.

ok thanks! So if the tongue is falling back and obstructing does the "EPAP Min" or "EPAP Max" need to be adjusted?

Dunno. Depends on what the PS is doing. It gets a bit complicated because of the interaction of all the settings.
In most circumstances it's the EPAP minimum though. Further complicated if the EPAP max setting is maybe preventing more EPAP (if more is needed).
This might help you understand a little better.
http://www.isetonline.org/yahoo_site_ad ... 190318.pdf

This is how I was told the settings work, In Auto ASV mode Min Epap + Min PS = Min IP, Max Epap + Max PS = Max IP. In ASV mode Epap + Min PS = Min IP, Epap + Max PS = Max IP.

Awesome article Pugsy

Thanks

Dave007 wrote:ok thanks! So if the tongue is falling back and obstructing does the "EPAP Min" or "EPAP Max" need to be adjusted?

I think that (the tongue is falling back and obstructing) would be your sleeping position as in sleeping on your back, avoid sleeping on your back.

Sounds like it's time to experiment.

You could raise max epap, and if that doesn't work then raise min epap.

[[Edit: Based upon your prior posts, your min epap might be 9.6 and max epap might be 15.6. If you aren't using SleepyHead software, you should so that you can see if your epap pressure is reaching your max epap. If max epap isn't being reached, then you can try progressively raising min epap and review your SleepyHead data for each change. As PR suggests in the next post, you could post a screen shot of your SleepyHead data and someone here may help to interpret your data!]]

For me, a high max epap was okay because the S9/A10 asv machines never went too high like some apaps do to treat obstructive apneas. It seems to take what it is needed as far as epap.

I like to keep min epap within about 1.0 to 1.5 of my lower apap range needed to treat obstructive apneas while sleeping on my back. This way my oxygen levels are a little better and and overall ASV treatment seems smoother than having min epap of 4 or 3 below my minimum apap range.

A max PS of 10 is pretty good for me.

klv329 wrote:Sounds like it's time to experiment.

You could raise max epap, and if that doesn't work then raise min epap.

raising max only matters if the machine has reached that pressure and needs to go higher, it's better to ask for example data than to suggest something that won't work except in limited cases.