Central vs Obstructive Apnea

[cpaptex]

Most of the events that I have are shown to be CA on my CPAP machine with a few OA. My AHI is slowly creeping up. I guess my question relates to the CA events. My assumption is that I'm having fewer Obstructive events are more Central events as I fall deeper into REM Sleep. Is that a correct assumption?

Thanks

[Sheriff Buford]

You'll have to down-load your data to see when they occur. As far as I know, there is nothing you can really do about centrals. If you feel comfortable, you can reduce your pressure 1 cm h20 and see if your centrals reduce. My centrals increased when I raised my pressure above my "sweet-spot".

Sheriff

[JohnBFisher]

Technically, the CA events stand for "clear airway" events. With only the pressure and measurement of the length of the airway, it is impossible to determine if the event is a central apnea or not.

That being said, unless you are not sleeping well, if the CA events are gradually increasing but you are otherwise fine - then keep an eye on it. If your sleep falls apart (assumingly) due to the increase in CA events then you will want to talk with your sleep specialist about it.

In fact, there is a lot that can be done to central apneas. It is possible that a BiLevel machine would be all that you need to resolve the increase in the CA events. You might then sleep well enough to need no further intervention. It could be the addition of oxygen is all that is needed. It could be that you need an ASV unit to help address the CA events. But regardless of the option used, you should tackle such an increase in CA events by talking with your sleep specialist.

Unlike obstructive events, due to other possible health issues, I do not recommend trying to "self medicate" to resolve central apneas. If there is an underlying heart condition, that can literally be very dangerous. Instead, it is best to discuss it with a doctor to address the central apneas.

Hope that helps.

[Mary Z]

No that is not a valid assumption. You may be increasing centrals (really, clear airway events) by increasing pressure, or you may have more "clear airway events". You have to be tested in the lab to show centrals. Good brainstorming, though. Watch that AHI, increasing pressure can also increase AHI.

[archangle]

Get SleepyHead or other software and look at the actual waveforms. Apneas can vary in length and severity. See how long they last and how severe they are.

[Air Force Retired]

Are your CA's occuring just before you go into sleep and just as you are coming out of sleep? I ask this because this is a problem I have. I use sleepyhead and I can see them at the beginning and end of the sleep cycle with none in between unless I get up in the night and get back in bed. Sometimes I have them after I get back in bed and before I fall asleep and sometimes not. As they are not occuring during actual sleep and I am feeling good, I just discount the CA numbers from my AHI which usually puts me in the 1.0 to 2.5 range 99 percent ofthe time. Hope this helps.

[ozze_dollar]

The reason I was put on a VPAP was because I had central apneas.It cleared them up.

[Mary Z]

The reason I was put on a VPAP was because I had central apneas.It cleared them up.

Out of curiosity, how did you find out you were having centrals?
Thanks,

[ozze_dollar]

The reason I was put on a VPAP was because I had central apneas.It cleared them up.

Out of curiosity, how did you find out you were having centrals?
Thanks,

When I did my initial sleep test it shows how many OSA you have and how many centrals I had. I was first trialed with an S9 APAP but found the centrals stayed. Then they configured it to CPAP but that didnt do much. I was then trialed with a VPAP and it got the AHI down below 5. I then purchased the new Resmed S9 VPAP ASV and have had a low AHI ever since.

[Riverlea]

I've just started out with a Resmed VPAP. I'm having a lot of centrals, as I did in my (fourth!) sleep study. The doc has just informed me that they believe this is treatment induced. Not, BTW, due to high pressure, but due rather to the fact that my brain stem has been oxygen deprived for so long that it's now regulating breathing through response to CO2 build-up. Now that I've started on treatment, and have flooded my system with O2, my brain is not steadily signaling breathing. Apparently this phenomena usually disappears within 8 weeks as the brain adjusts. This sounds right to me as I had no central events in my first studies. I'm posting this because I don't see any discussion of it on this site. -Riverlea

[cpaptex]

I saw my Pulmonologist today and we spoke about this and he decided to go back to square 1.

I'm going to do another Overnight Oximeter Study first and see if the CPAP is able to handle my Desaturation issues. My at rest was at 95 in the office and dropped to 90 with the 6min walk, it didn't drop into the 80's. My initial overnight Oximeter Study had me in the low 80's during the desaturation events. If I'm still having significant number of events of desaturation. Then he'll do another Sleep Study.

[TmjTerri]

I have severe complex sleep apnea and my pulse ox drops down to the low 70's and the longest I stopped breathing was for 1 minute and 32 seconds. I bought a watch style pulse ox that records and has an alarm and software and I love it. It comfortable to wear and it does not bother me at night. I know that my pulse ox dipping down that low is not good and I also know that if yours is dipping down into the 80's is not good either. I am not educated enough to give you advice I just wanted to let you know that you are not alone. This disorder or whatever it really is... is really a big bummer to have. Good luck with everything! Terri

[cpaptex]

I'm following this same thread line to continue my discussion on this topic as it relates to me.

I switched to a Nasal Pillow and my AHI numbers shot up immediately. Granted it just two days. But it concerns me. The number prior to the change ranged from .28 to 2.8. The two nights with the pillows were at 4.7 and 5.6. Last night, I had no OA events.