Minimum pressure setting

lebedjev · Post by **lebedjev** » Fri May 23, 2008 4:47 am

Hi.

I have an average pressure of around 11 and my auto CPAP is set to a range of 5 to 15. Will an increase of the minimum value to a value closer to 11 be an improvement? And how does the minimum value work actually? I have notice that the CPAP starts at 5 and then rise after a while. Does it go down to 5 again during the night when my breating is OK and then rise when a AHI appear or is it hovering at a higher level? I can only read data on the display so I have no way follow the CPAP during the whole night.

rtkeat · Post by **rtkeat** » Fri May 23, 2008 5:22 am

In some cases it is beneficial to move the bottom pressure closer to the average. Apap's constantly challeng the air way i.e. you star at 5 and the machine adds pressure each time an apnea or hypopnea happens till they stop happening. For you, it would seem your airway is controled somewhere around 11 cmh20. By moving the bottom closer to eleven the machine will in effect be maintaining your airway faster and overall reducing apnea's. The real question is how long have you been collecting data if it is only a week I would keep going for several months and then have the machine downloaded. You can then take the report to your doctor and make apprpriate changes. Remember the sole function of the apap is to maintain your airway if its doing it... good, if your feeling good during the day... good. If it aint broke dont fix it.