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Afraid to sleep. Most episodes happen at night. What can I do?
Heart Rhythm Conditions | Last Active: Oct 1 7:56am | Replies (41)Comment receiving replies
Very interesting about the CPAP machine. I never knew it would help with AF at night while sleeping. My heart rate is in the low 40s during the day while resting and at night while I am asleep, it goes down to the 30s. At this rate, I may just not wake up in the morning. My wife gets very concerned because at times she does not hear me breathing when I am sleeping and gives me a nudge to get me back to breathing. But she can't stay awake all night just to see if I am breathing.
I have been diagnosed to have sleep apnea but have never bothered to look into getting a CPAP machine. The 3 Cardiologists that I am seeing, not one of them has ever informed me that a CPAP machine would help me with my AF. I have had 2 Ablations, 2 Cardioversions, 3 cauterizations, and the last one being a Cardiac Cauterization.
My AF went away for a while, but I feel it during the day and at night. I have a Kardia apparatus that I purchased, and I monitor my EKG at home. Most of the time it gives me a reading of "Possible AF" or "Unclassified". My last EKG reading was normal since August 1st.
So, I don't really know what to do. I have asked my Cardiologists if a CPAP machine would help my AF and they said it would not. I asked them about a pacemaker, and they said it would not help my AF. And 2 are the top Cardiologists that I am seeing from Austin and one is from my local area who is supposed to be the best in my area.
I have other severe issued with my heart and lungs which is severe pulmonary hypertension, pooling blood in my veins, and the right and left upper chamber valves of my heart are not shutting properly and leaking blood so my heart is not pumping all the blood it should into my system.
So, as you can see, my heart and lungs are not in the best of shape, but I am not going to worry about it because it would not do me any good. I will just continue to go to my follow-ups with my Cardiologists and Specialists and just hope and pray for the best. I am at peace, and I have left everything in God's Hands.
Replies to "Very interesting about the CPAP machine. I never knew it would help with AF at night..."
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I, too, was diagnosed with severe OSA and have used a PAP machine ever since. Just a correction: CPAP won't help with atrial fibrillation if it was the original cause. Once your heart is disordered electrically, that's it...for life. What CPAP can do is to reduce the nocturnal strain on your heart that caused the AF in the first place. By keeping your airway splinted, you keep your optimal range of O2 saturation. The constant severe reductions in O2 in your blood during sleep apnea, with its constant threat of 'dying' , is what makes your heart disordered.....it can't get any rest at night. The CPAP keeps your blood oxygen levels up, and your heart can beat calmly, even down at the low rate of 34 BPM if that's what your O2 demand is and your heart is fit and strong.
So, your cardiologist is partly correct. CPAP won't make AF go away. AF is a progressive disorder (all the modern research makes this quite clear), and left unmanaged it can get worse progressively. The CPAP machine, apart from improving your quality of sleep by allowing you to STAY ASLEEP....not waking up gasping for air sixteen times each night... and therefore going through each successive stage of sleep properly..., will reduce the constant strain on your heart and possibly decelerate the progression you don't want. You have the disorder and it is permanent. It can be reduced in severity with CPAP, but also it needs strict management via drugs, lifestyle changes, catheter ablation (The Gold Standard of care for AF for most patients, especially early), or a pacemaker.
I said your cardiologist is partly correct. He's right on the face of it, as stated. But CPAP is necessary for longevity if you have moderate or severe sleep apnea. Not only will OSA cause sleep disruption, which is very unhealthy (weight gain, metabolic syndrome, kidney and lung problems, dementia, etc), but it causes your heart to continue, even more quickly, to deteriorate. CPAP is essential if you want to live longer, with or without atrial fibrillation.