Just Diagnosed with Sleep Apnea - Have Question

bwak wrote:Patients respiration's indicated sleep disordered breathing with an overall apnea/hypopnea index of 8.3/hr in all sleep positions and sleep stages. The REM index was in the moderately severe category at 20.1/hr.

Your REM stage sleep gave you the diagnosis. This is common. Many are worse during REM (me too at 53 AHI and only 11 in non REM sleep)

Not particularly worse on better on your back or other positions so don't have to worry about that.

Rest of the stuff was pretty standard. Sleep stage percentages pretty much normal. Explain in more detail here.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sleep

RERA Respiratory Event Related Arousal

RDI Respiratory Disturbance Index

Thanks Pugsy for the link and also the explanations - much appreciated!

Live and learn. I know our heart rate lowers at rest and asleep but I never knew that our heart rate could go as low as 23 during sleep and be normal. And you got me beat on the maximum heart rate too. None of my PSGs or overnight oximetries have hit that high. Not even when the oximetry starts before I get my mask on and PAP turned on like just as I set on the bed to put them on after walking up the stairs and into the bedroom, or I get up during the night to use the rest room. COPD and activity can sure drive up the heart rate.

Heart rate of 23 sounds like a typo. You might want to check on that. If it's really 23, ask your doctor if that's a problem.

23 is possible.

I had an oximetry recording ordered by my doctor a week after starting CPAP. Mean heart rate for the night was 32 with a low of 23.
Now that I have an oximeter, I record myself regularly and the mean heart rate is between 30-37 when I sleep. During the day, sitting down at my desk, it is around 45-55.
I know I have no heart problems as I have an EKG annually as part of my pilot medical renewal (I also did a stress test following the apnea diagnosis, just to be sure, the cardiologist told me my heart was perfect ).
What's fun is that the SpOReview program that comes with the CMS50 oximeter, only shows heart rate above 50 on the summary sheet, it therefore shows a straight horizontal line for me

Slinky, Archangle & Bluecat - Thanks for the responses. I will be going to my titration study on Wednesday and will ask about my heart rate - it sounded awfully low to me also. I am very concerned about getting the right equipment.