Help with Centrals

[Tridens]

Hi, I've been using APAP for about 8 years now. I hadn't really tracked my data in quite some time, but I just purchased an S9 and downloaded Sleepyhead to take a look. This is a pretty typical report for me. Lots of Centrals (or at least the machine is flagging them as centrals), and relatively few OAs. My titrated pressure, according to sleep doc, is 9cm, and he's also prescribed 8-12 for Apap.

Sometimes my AHI is as high as 18-20, and never goes below 5 (average is 8-10 over long periods of data). The majority of them seem to be centrals, although I believe the S9 seems to have a higher CA to OA ratio for me than my Respironics REMstar Auto was reporting in Encore.

Can anyone help me understand what is going on here? Are these really all centrals, or is there a chance that they're OAs but being registered incorrectly? If they are all centrals, where do I go from here?

Thanks so much for your help.

--Tridens

[avi123]

It seems to me that you have a light Central Sleep Apnea syndrome (CSAS). Ask your Doc if it's OK for you to be on APAP mode. APAPs are contraindicated by the American Board of Sleep Medicine for those who suffer from CSAS (including CSR PB), Heart conditions, COPD, Hypoventilation, and a couple of more ailments. BTW, your AHI of 20 is still not regarded as hi.

[JohnBFisher]

I agree you should talk with your sleep doctor about this. Don't be surprised if your doctor recommends another sleep study. If those "clear airway" apneas are due to central apneas while you are asleep, they might recommend either a BiLevel machine or an ASV unit.

[Tridens]

Thanks for the feedback, guys. Guess I'll call my sleep doc tomorrow. I hope it's not CSAS, as I just forked over some major dough for a new S9, which won't be much use if APAP is contraindicated for CSAS!

Thanks again for the feedback.