Heart and Apnea

[zinnia]

Hello,
I was dx with mitral valve regurgitation and my cardiologist told me that apnea causes the RVSP numbers to increase which was shown on an echocardiogram. I started using a C-Pap recently and it supposed to reduce the numbers and was wondering if any of you have had this issue?
Thank You.

[Goofproof]

Apnea kills your heart and other organs, then their failure kills you. It's a good reason to treat Apnea. Jim

[jefe2018]

HI,
I have atrial fibrillation (AFIB). I have had 2 ablation procedures to block electrical impulse pathways to the upper left heart chamber. This was causing periodic irregular heart beat. The significant danger of this is stroke. I don't know about your diagnosed issue, but a very close friend who is a GP Doc helped research for me apnea's relationship to heart problems before my 2nd ablation. They are significant and now recognized. The real issue is that apnea results in low oxygen saturation. Its purpose is to pump oxygen to the body system, and apnea breaks down its efficiency Over time, the heart can respond by going hay-wire. (I'm sure this isn't how a doc would explain it).

Anyway, one study showed that the efficacy of ablation for AFIB patients is very low without effective treatment of apnea. In other words, without effective use of my APAP I should expect a low chance of success for AFIB treatment. I sought out sleep study in between my two procedures (July and Dec last year). I was diagnosed with a 12, which is mild apena, but occasional alcohol use made it higher, probably much higher. And, I've learned sleeping on my back is a real problem for me too. I'm sure I was in the moderate apena range a lot of the time. With adjustments to my sleep position and dialing in my ramp setting, high and low APAP settings, and use of the EPR function, I have been getting weekly average AHI scores of 1. I see this is CRITICAL to getting the best possible AFIB outcome.

My surgeon didn't discuss this with me despite my having tracked my AFIB occasions to 80% onset during sleep. He was a good surgeon, but I needed a doctor who provided a fuller scope of understanding to sleep disorder and its interaction with the Heart. Other docs KNOW this. Continue your research on your heart issue until you get a good answer. You can effectively get your apnea under control, and folks on this site will help you with their experience. Apnea is an enemy of the heart.