Vagus Nerve Effect on Heartbeat

I was awakening by fast heart beat. This led to series of tests. All looked normal, but sleep apnea was diagnosed. I was told the heart reacts to lack of oxigen caused by the apnea obstruction that interrupts breathing. Nine months later, I am trying yet another apnea mask -- number 5. The CPAP treatment is so disruptive to my sleep that I sometime think the fast heart periodically waking me is better.

Wishing you luck in finding answers. I will look forward to future posts to see what you find.
Thanks,
Dana

@dalebout123 Dana, you have been here for a while and have read and replied to many posts by people, including me. Forgive me, but I do the same and can't be sure you have seen my mentions of apneaboard.com. If you haven't, or if you're reluctant to go to that site for some reason, please do so...with my assurance that you will be welcomed and that you will find really good help there, including about masks. If you have done so, please disregard.

To our OP, this could very well be due to Vagus nerve tonality, maybe even dysautonomia (you can do a quick search by that name and gets scads of interesting reading), but I believe, as inexpert as I am, that it might be related to spinal stenosis.
https://absolutehealthparis.com/spinal-stenosis-nighttime-leg-cramps/#:~:text=About%2070%25%20of%20patients%20with%20spinal%20stenosis%20experience,contractions%20of%20the%20muscles%20in%20the%20lower%20limbs.

@gloaming, hi, I was just reading your response basically stating that you believed the problem was spinal stenosis as you are an “expert” and I was curious to know “what area of expertise are you referring to, or are you just an expert in general?” I don’t mean any offense- just curious. Chebo1954 or just Robert. Thanks for your input by the way.

@gloaming
Thank you, gloaming. I read your posts all the time. I am in the apnea group. Another group I find helpful is the ResMed owners group on FaceBook. The most help has been from acquaintances and friends in regards to masks. I'm beginning to think I have not had the best support from the supplier I was referred to. The latest is that I was sent an App that mapped my head and face for fit. It would seem to me that should have been the first thing. Next Tuesday I see a new sleep medicine doctor as my original one is no longer available. This new doctor will be reviewing my latest overnight test. The sleep clinic I go to will not release the test results directly to me. This test was the second -- run to check my oxigen levels on CPAP. The tech in charge of me came in and covered my mouth in the middle of the test. This led me to ask for a full face mask. It is on it's way. We'll see. You are my hero as you give such good concise feedback. I appreciate all you do.
Thanks,
Dana

@chebo1954 That is a perfectly reasonable question. My text states, '...as INEXPERT as I am...' So, not an expert. 😀
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/inexpert

@dalebout123 This is great news. It is apparent to me that you're well on top of this, probably a lot more than I am myself (my case, although diagnosed as severe, was pretty straightforward and all I need is a simple Elite model and a nasal mask. Has worked well for 8 years now). I'd bet you know more about sleep apnea and its treatment than I do. So..............kudos!

@gloaming I’m very sorry as I thought it was a misspelling error. Please forgive me, plus I’m very happy to learn something new everyday! Didn’t even know that was a word! Once again I’m sorry. Robert

Hi and BTW I see we have another Dana on this post. My handle is @danab I find its not a popular name so I see so few people named Dana.
Anyway, as for the Vegas nerve it does have a lot to do with heartbeat. Im a transplant recipient and during that process they cut that nerve away from the heart. Nerves don't grow back and so it definitely affects heartbeat.

Before my transplant I delt with what your dealing with and it always seemed to happen about mid night. Now for me I already was diagnosed with sleep apnea and was using a cpap now apap daily. But I never tied the two together but it does make sense. Mine only got bothersome towards the end as it seemed my medications were not controlling the rhythm problems any more.

The sleep apnea does sound like a solution as apnea is where you heart stops briefly and I can see you body reacting to restart it and that may tun into a fast heart beat.
While Im on the subject I started out with just the nasal pillows but I also snore so I needed the full mask as i would just breath thru my mouth and the nasal pillows were ineffective. I went with the soft touch almost like felt as the mask seal and its very confutable for me. The other thing I found is I had to play with pressure and ramp time to get it to feel confutable. At first the ramp time was too long and I felt like i could not breath. So now I have it come to full pressure quickly. Changing the mask as often as your insurance allows for me also helps as the mask leaks if I use it too long. Just some things Ive discovered.

Good luck on solving the problem and if I can help please let me know.

@chebo1954 No, not at all. I really did mean it when I posted that it was a very good question, and rightly asked. If I am unable to provide some kind of assurances that I am speaking truthfully, then I need to be challenged. I take no umbrage in your question...honestly. No offence taken. And what the heck, you learned a new word. 😀