Centrals? How reliable is this data?

Good Morning!

I wore my mask without forgetting. I figure I should get extra points for that! LOL!

My data is:
Hrs. 11.4
Pressure: 10
Leak: 3.6L/min
AI: 2.8
CI: 1.6

I have never had centrals reported in any sleep study (total 4). Is my pressure set too high at 12 cms? Does it have anything to do with Leak? When I was doing the split study, the tech titrated me up to 12 cm. My doctor felt that might be too high and had me use a loaner APAP for 7 days. My doctor said my pressure was between 7 and 8 cm. Now I see that my pressure was at 10 cm last night.

Do I need to change anything? My leak from 2 days ago was 14.1 now it is 3.6. What do I need to do to get my Leak to 0.0? I am most concerned about this mysterious appearance of having centrals. I am a bit anxious. Should I be concerned? Any and all information would help me greatly. Thank you! Laurie

Laurie1041 wrote: My data is:
Hrs. 11.4
Pressure: 10
Leak: 3.6L/min
AI: 2.8
CI: 1.6

You need to understand that the Pressure and Leak data on the S9's LCD are 95% data.

95% of the the time the S9 was running, your pressure was AT or BELOW 10 cm. Since your machine was running for 11.4 hours, that means that your pressure was AT or BELOW 10 cm for all but about 34 minutes.

Likewise, 95% of the time the S9 was running, your leak ate was AT or BELOW 3.6
So that means your leak rate was above 3.6 for only about 34 minutes. Typically most people don't manage to have 95% leak rates equal to 0.0 night after night after night. I'd say that if your 95% leak rates are typically less than 4 or 5 L/minute, you don't need to worry too much about them.

I had NO centrals on my sleep study, but nowadays I'm more likely to have a central than an obstructive. But it doesn't worry me a bit because the most centrals I've ever had is 2 or 3 in a whole night. I rarely if evern have any obstructives, and a few hypopneas here and there.

The important thing is not to get too obsessed about the numbers, especially if they are low in general. Now, if you saw lots of centrals, or clusters at certain points, and they were lengthy, that would be a concern. But as long as your overall numbers are low, you don't have clusters, and you feel well, I wouldn't worry too much.

I also have bouts of periodic breathing every night, up to 2% of the night. That seems weird to me, but it overall I'm doing so well that I'm not worrying about it.

Thank you both for responding. I feel a big sense of relief. I have never owned a data capable machine before and did not understand that the data on the LED screen represents 95%. Thank you for explaining this to me. I have decided that it is within my best interests to broaden my knowledge base surrounding SA and PAP instead of getting lost in the "bells and whistles" of the S9. That can come later.
My job right now is to analyze how I feel on a day-to-day basis so my doctor and I can gauge whether the current treatment plan is satisfactory. Thanks again for all of the help! Laurie

Greetings! One other thing to remember is that these machines can only report that you had a clear airway, not that it is truely a central apnea. To determine if you had a true central apnea, it would need to know a LOT more about your sleep that it records. For example, if you awaken - even for a bit - and then fall back asleep, you may have a perfectly normal "central apnea". As we fall asleep, this is perfectly normal and NOT scored as a central apnea.

Or you might toss and turn - but not be fully awake. However, it's REAL common when we toss and turn to hold our breath for a short period of time. Again, it would NOT be scored as a central apnea on a sleep study.

And of course, as others noted, if the number is low and your AHI remains below 5, then it's not all that big a deal. What's much more important is how you feel in the morning. If you feel the therapy is making a difference, then don't worry about it. If you continue to feel poorly - or your AHI remains high (well above 5), then certainly bring the data and discuss it with your doctor.

Hope that helps.

JohnBFisher wrote:Greetings! One other thing to remember is that these machines can only report that you had a clear airway, not that it is truely a central apnea. To determine if you had a true central apnea, it would need to know a LOT more about your sleep that it records. For example, if you awaken - even for a bit - and then fall back asleep, you may have a perfectly normal "central apnea". As we fall asleep, this is perfectly normal and NOT scored as a central apnea.

Or you might toss and turn - but not be fully awake. However, it's REAL common when we toss and turn to hold our breath for a short period of time. Again, it would NOT be scored as a central apnea on a sleep study.

And of course, as others noted, if the number is low and your AHI remains below 5, then it's not all that big a deal. What's much more important is how you feel in the morning. If you feel the therapy is making a difference, then don't worry about it. If you continue to feel poorly - or your AHI remains high (well above 5), then certainly bring the data and discuss it with your doctor.

Hope that helps.

It helps me a bunch, I thought I was waking and having them, not having them and waking, make sense? So glad for my data, need to learn to read it better though. I have centrals while awake every week, talking with mask on does it for me in morning. Thanks, john