Ramp Use--AHI Question

[ABC]

The auto m-series will not treat AH events during ramp but will it record or log such events during ramp.

My ramp is set for 15 minutes but sometimes I have to reactivate it.

Does anyone know if their AH Index is worse when they use ramp?

I get the feeling that this is happening.

[Snoredog]

Depends on the type of machine you have. The M series doesn't record or respond during periods of Ramp on the Auto. What it does do is climb back up to the Auto:Min pressure every 5 minutes. So if you don't set it up correctly, it may only delay the autotitration response for the period of the timer.

If anything, your AHI should be lower using Ramp. Most of the events seen at sleep onset are artifacts anyway which can drive up your AHI indice. On the m series auto, you can have a pressure range set from 8cm to 12cm then set the Ramp to 6.5cm over 30 minutes. Then when you turn on the machine it will start at 8cm pressure and start autotitrating. If you push the Ramp button it will drop down to the lower set pressure of 6.5cm. If the timer is set to 30 minutes it will increase from 6.5cm to 7cm in 5 minutes, then 7.5 in 10 minutes and 8cm in 15 minutes where it is now at your Auto:Min pressure. For the next 15 minutes there will NOT be any response until the timer elapses. That is still not a bad thing, studies have shown at a pressure of only 8cm can clear nearly 70% of SDB events seen.

Use Ramp to fall asleep and stop worrying about what it does to your AHI.

But to reset the M series LCD Therapy data (doesn't erase what is on the card), you do it the same way you enter Setup, but instead of pushing the Setup (+) key, you press the (->) right arrow key to navigate to the Therapy menu, once that is displayed you press the (-) minus key for 5-seconds and the data will reset to zero. Then you get daily stats the next day.

To reset LCD Therapy data (does NOT erase any data from SmartCard):

1. Hold down the (<-) (->) buttons while plugging in the power on the back,
wait for 2 beeps or 5 seconds, release buttons.
2. Press the (->) key and navigate to Therapy screen.
3. Press and HOLD down the (-) minus key for 5 seconds, therapy data will reset to Zero.
4. Press the (->) key to scroll back to main menu, press (+) key to enter Setup or
On/Off button to exit.

[ABC]

Thank you, your response has been very helpful and I did learn some things that I did not know.