Three weeks ago I had a sleep study in hospital. I was rather anxious about it as I am highly claustrophobic. It was hard enough wearing pajamas, let alone having all the probes and wires on me. I was in tears (and in AF) when getting wired up. I did some deep breathing and meditating and finally got to sleep, although I had to get up a couple of times to go to the loo. I’d had a chest X-ray that day and was subsequently diagnosed with bronchitis but I didn’t know about it that night. I was coughing quite a bit. I feel like I sleep quite well most nights and never have trouble with sleepiness during the day so sleep apnea was not an obvious possibility.
Today I saw the sleep specialist who went through my report. I only had about 3 hours sleep (I crashed when I got home for another couple of hours) but they did get some useful information although there is a statement on the report that the shortness of the sleep could impact the results.
To summarize, in non REM sleep I have mild sleep apnea, my slow wave sleep (deep sleep) is normal but when in REM sleep I have severe sleep apnea. I don’t know what’s happening in my dreams! Overall it’s a mild-moderate rating. During the respiratory events my oxygen was levels dropped to 91%.
The sleep specialist said as I have AF at all times of the day and night with no rhyme or reason he’s not convinced that it’s solely sleep apnea causing the AF problem but it could contribute to it.
Although I hate the idea of a CPAP machine because of my claustrophobia, I’ve agreed to a trial. I need to be brave and give it a go. My mum has severe sleep apnea and has dementia. I don’t want that to be me in 20 years. I also need to see if it helps my AF, especially if I’m going to have another ablation. The other options are a mouth guard or surgery and neither of those are guaranteed to work. Surgery would also require a long time off anticoagulants as you can bleed up to 2-3 weeks afterwards.
So next Monday my trial begins. I see the sleep specialist again the day before my next EP appointment so hopefully we’ll have some news.
Written by
Kaz747
To view profiles and participate in discussions please or .
Its a condition where your airways block up/constrict and basically you stop breathing for a while,until yiur brain sends panic signals and you jerk /snort awake ,,, and begin cycle over and over again all night.Im sure my husband has it but he wont go for tests.Problem is,you get sleep deprived,can affect heart,blood supp!y to brain hence dementia link.
Easy to diagnose Im told..IF you can be persuaded to get it checked out,and theres things you can do to help.
I can understand your husband’s reluctance and if I didn’t have AF and a mother with dementia I would have been reluctant too as I don’t have the usual daily tiredness most sleep apnea sufferers have.
Oh Kaz,the time of trial continues.So sorry to hear you felt so upset,but hope it all helps in the longterm to make sense of your health.It must be frustrating and annoying in equal measures. I expect you are heartily (sorry!) sick of it all now.
Wishing you all the best over the next few weeks and sending a cyber hug.() ( ) xxx
I work in Respiratory only as medical secretary, but I answered the phone one day to a chap who said hos life had been turned round with using the CPAP. Some people even manage to stop using it but others need it for life.
I was checked for this as was hubby a few years back but not conclusive on either of us. Still feel I might have it as often wake in middle of night and I do have arrythmia and short bout of AF (7 day tape) with very occadional spike in HR. May get it looked into again myself. I know some people cant get on with it but I think its perserverance really. Al so have a splint as i have TMJ (temporomandibular joint disorder). I gather this can also cause AF and arrythmia, insomnia, fatigue and other things. My osteopath is currently trying to help by dealing with my neck and massaging inside of jaw (not very nice and slow progress), but I couldnt believe how tight the inside of my jaw gets! Its really difficult trying to work out what causes these things as it can even by hypithruoid problem. No wonder docs and endos have problems trying to work it all out, its a nightmare really!
Dont know if you drive but you will need to inform DVLA of this once you have diagnosis.
Good luck and I hope they manage to sort it out for you.
Thanks Jane. It’s interesting to hear your experience. I was surprised to see such a difference in the stages of sleep. I don’t get tired generally during the day and so do wake up refreshed so perhaps the sleep I’m getting in the other stages is enough to keep me going but the REM sleep is a worry. Most of the events were partial blockages apparently and I have a nasal issue in one nostril so the report said correction of that may help too. I’m in Australia so we have a different system here with regards to driving.
I had an ablation for Afib in Sept. of 2018, and they also recommended a sleep study, which I had done in Nov. 2018. I was diagnosed with moderate sleep apnea, my O2 levels went to 76 during the apnea episodes. I was also hesitant to get a CPAP (now, most of them are not CPAPs, but Auto PAPs, meaning they adjust automatically to your sleep episodes). I got my machine about 2 weeks ago and it has been up and down. I had to get a different mask, and still have trouble with it sometimes, but it is getting better. My scores are all 90-100, so I must be doing it right. I would encourage you to give it 2-3 weeks of adjusting to the machine and the mask, and don't be afraid to ask for a different mask or machine. If you do have sleep apnea, it can really damage your heart and have other detrimental consequences, if you don't take steps to alleviate it. Good Luck, and pleasant dreams!
I switched from mask to pills nose apparatus. Seems to be less invasive. I believe you can't be a mouth breather to use this. Fortunately I can sleep with mouth closed ok. I am asthmatic too so didn't like mask over face. Getting used to process but it is a big adjustment.
I also used the nasal pillows, but they irritated my nose, so I switched to what they call "dreamwear", which is still just a nasal apparatus, but doesn't have the effect of irritating the nose. And, yes, you can't be a mouth breather to use these, but they are so much less intrusive!
Went for followup sleep study last week and cardiology followup. Afib hepisodes have decreased about 15% at least. I only use cpap 4-6 hrs as I don"t sleep well at all some nights. I fall to sleep on couch and then get up and go to bed. I have a feeling if I were to spend a full 6-8 hrs with cpap the results will be better. I am working on doing that but I also have bad back so uncomfortable to lay in bed long periods of time. Have to keep switching sides to lay on.
But if your Afib is noted specificly when your sleeping it may resolve the issue. I didn't want to deal with a c poo so either But I use the one apparatus one called the pillow. Not clostrophobic like the mask. Can't be a mouth breather though which I am not. Read numerous articles that day sleep apnea triggers afib! Just saying.
That’s thing I have AFib all throughout the day and only occasionally at night which is why the sleep specialist said he thinks there’s other stuff happening. It will be interesting to see what happens.
Thanks Jo, I’ll give them a go. The specialist was saying that it depends where along the tract the problem is. He often sees people who have tried a mouth piece and/or surgery which doesn’t fix things because the problem is further down the windpipe. My test showed a combination of obstructive and central apnea’s. Central sleep apnea is when the signals from the brain don’t work properly which is more of a worry than the obstructive apneas.
I am extremely claustrophobic and was dreading the sleep study but had it done at home having been rigging up at the hospital and was OK. My reading was in the high 60's per hour and was put on a CPAP immediately and was dreading it, but it has changed my life so much for the better I am so grateful to the person on this site who made the suggestion I had it checked out. I started with the nose pillows which was ok but then the mouth leaking so on with the chin strap, ok for a little while but was then told Central Apnea had crept in so I was told to wear a face mask, I though no way but I was OK but it didn't seem to work so back to the nose pillows and a stronger chin strap and after 8 months I am getting great readings with 4/5 episodes a night as opposed to 68! The heart consultant was adamant that the sleep apnea was causing my PAF and have to say since I started on CPAP I have been fine, still on Sotalol 80 x 2 and Rivaroxaban but I might be reducing those soon. It just takes time and trial and error so hang in there.
Like you, I had the sleep study done in correlation to Afib and ablation... mine was mild apnea, but I was tired of waking up tired! So went for the machine and have had it for about 6 weeks. My Fitbit has shown that I'm getting more deep sleep and wearing the contraption with a chin strap is working for now. Given the possible effects from interrupted breathing on heart and brain, it's really smart to give this a try. And though I was in afib 70% of the time in weeks before ablation, have been clear since then...now four months. Hope you find the right solution!
Thanks that’s great to know. I understand the possible consequences so will definitely try and cope with the CPAP and see if it helps the AFib. According to my Fitbit I sleep quite well so I’m not sure about it’s accuracy.
There are many effective alternatives to using CPAP to treat sleep apnea. It can be very challenging for patients with claustrophobia to adapt to sleeping while their face is covered with a mask, and understandably so. I'm contributing from the the US, so I'm not sure what UK resources are, but here is a link to a highly respected sleep clinic in Colorado and if you click the "services" link on the top, then on "sleep apnea treatments" you will see all the alternatives we have available to treat this condition. Good luck!
Thanks Nicenurse. I’m in Australia. Here I can have a 4 week no obligation trial to see how I cope and whether it helps the AF. We did discuss some alternates to CPAP including waiting to see how things go when I’ve lost a few more kgs and reach my ideal weight but as I’m off work with my life on hold until I can get my AF under control waiting isn’t really an option. I didn’t sleep on my back at all during the study so it’s not a positional issue.
Good luck with your Cpap machine. Had mine abt a year and am quite comfortable with it although I too suffer from claustrophobia and anxiety (and Afib)!!!
Thanks Aufgeblassen. I originally said to the doctor that I’d rather undergo surgery than wear a CPAP mask but I know that was fear talking. When he explained what was involved in surgery and the bleeding risk and the fact that you’d need to be off anticoagulants for a long time therefore increasing the stroke risk, I thought “maybe not” 😃 I’ll give the 4 week CPAP a go - if I can cope with it and it works great. If not I’ll be back to square one.
Here in the US, insurance won't consider an ablation unless a sleep study is conducted. Medical studies do believe there is a sleep apnea/AF connection. I had to have a sleep study because my cardiologist could not figure out why I have AF, but I was fine. I still don't have a trigger; they chalk it up to heredity. My husband has sleep apnea. It took a while for him to get used to it, but he would not go back to before. He feels so much better. He doesn't have AF, but it could have become a problem, among other things, with continued sleep deprivation. Good luck to you!
Thanks Madscientist. That’s interesting. There was no real reason to suspect sleep apnea before my AF ablation but my EP didn’t want to do a touch up ablation until after we’d ruled out other possible links. Will see how things go.
I'm in the US and have had 2 ablations without mention of sleep apnea or a sleep study, so it must depend on your doctor and/or insurance. I'm on my second cardiologist now, who is the first one to say that she tests all of her AF patients for sleep apnea. When I learned what was involved with doing the sleep study in a lab overnight, I told her that I knew that I wouldn't be able to sleep in that setting, so didn't think it would be worth it.
Then a client of mine who is a dentist mentioned that she'd just returned from training on sleep apnea treatments. She's a very forward-thinking dentist and checks her patients for sleep apnea. She told me that there are home sleep apnea tests, which I've been researching.
Has anyone in the US tried any of the home tests?
I've been researching the companies and insurance coverage so I can do a home test.
My dentist friend also mentioned a non-CPAP type of treatment that's less invasive, but I don't know too much about it.
All that said, hope these discoveries and contraptions are helpful for you!!
Did you happen to catch my post on Heart Calm and the helpfulness of micronutrients? I've experienced a huge improvement overall in how I feel after taking magnesium, potassium, CoQ10 and taurine. It strikes me as an area for any and all of us to at least have a look at in terms of overall support for the heart. We can PM about it if you're interested.
I am in the US as well. It has been my experience that the decision to allow a home test is up to the pulmonologist. If the home test is inconclusive, then they will require a sleep clinic visit to give further information. My dentist also talked about the mouth appliance that is used by some to alleviate obstructive sleep apnea, but it is not as effective as the CPAP machine. I have also read about a new technology that is not available everywhere, that is a type of "pacemaker" appliance surgically implanted that somehow alleviates sleep apnea, but I am really unclear as to how it works. Things change rapidly, and hopefully, the CPAP machines will not be the gold standard for much longer!
I'm confused about why a pulmonologist is involved. I was under the impression that my cardiologist would order it and then a sleep specialist would interpret the results.
Please explain the involvement of the pulmonologist. This world is new to me, so I'm eager to learn before exploring options with my cardiologist.
My cardiologist ordered it, through a pulmonologist, who is the one who interprets the study. After the study was done, I went to see the pulmonologist to get the results, and it was the pulmonologist who ordered the CPAP machine. It may work differently in different areas, but that is how it's done in my area.
My mum had a home sleep study and I asked my EP about it and he said for what he wanted to look at a hospital study was better as there were more things they could measure. I spoke to the sleep consultant about alternatives including the devices/mouth guards the dentists make up. He said they can be good but it depends on where the problem is so he often sees people who have tried them and even people who have had surgery where the issue is further down the windpipe so altering the structure of the mouth/throat doesn’t always work. All in all, trialling the CPAP for 4 weeks is the best first step.
Yes I did see your post about heart calm. I do take some supplements and spoke to my pharmacist who said because of all the drugs and complications I’ve had he doesn’t want to recommend anything without my cardiologist’s okay. We have a great pharmacist/medical herbalist who does a national radio and TV show that I’ve been corresponding with and he’s been a great support.
Oh, that's good. It's such an adventure, isn't it? Figuring out what the balance is, all the trial and error, finding solutions that aren't worse than the problem! 😂
The impact of the CoQ10 is amazing. As I've been tinkering with the dosage, I've gotten to the point of feeling a sort of "hunger pang" in my heart for CoQ10. If I wait too long, I'll have an episode. If I take a dose, in a few minutes, I'll feel vastly better, with improvement in mood and energy. Slowly boosting the doses to see how it goes.
Thanks for bringing up the sleep apnea topic. I'm interested in exploring it, since my dentist friend and cardio both said that all kinds of people can have it, and not those you might typically expect to have it.
I think I'll try the home study first only because it's hard for me to imagine being able to sleep at all in a lab. When I had my ablations, I was basically awake all night. Just cannot sleep at all in those environments, too over-stimulating.
I'm wondering how they can get decent results if you don't get much sleep.
If anyone else has spoken to docs about that topic, please feel free to share.
I'm grateful to be sleeping much better, after figuring out that the acupuncturist I used to see had prescribed herbs without telling me anything about when to take the 2nd dose of the day. So for a few months, I was taking the herbs, only to wake up often, go into AF and be awake much of the night. With everything going on and it being back before my wonderful education here, I didn't connect the dots to know that it was the herbs. Plus I had trusted the guy to give me good information. So much for that idea.
Now the Heart Calm, plus some extra Taurine, helps me get good sleep, but I still do wake up at least once every night, sometimes a few times. That's what has me curious about sleep apnea. Plus, why not cross it off the list, right?
My sleep test was at home. I picked up the equipment, essentially a chest belt, a nose tube and a finger duck, from the doctor office. Slept for two nights at home then returned the equipment. I was informed of my results about 4 days later. My insurance covered it because of my AF diagnosis, since I did not have any other sleep apnea symptoms.
Yes, I am in the states. The sleep study equipment was through the doctors office, so I cannot recommend a company. Yes, it helped me sleep better knowing I did not have sleep apnea, but I was no further along knowing why I have AF. Still don't have a trigger besides my Dad having it. I am otherwise very healthy and (still) very active.
I have a Fitbit that tracks my sleep and heart rate too. According to that I sleep well most nights but of course it doesn’t compare to the medical testing equipment. Last night my Fitbit said I had 1 hour 35 mins REM but according to the sleep study it’s during REM that I have the most breathing issues. In REM sleep your body becomes paralyzed so you can’t act out your dreams so my breathing goes out of whack then and my oxygen levels drop. I’m not sure I’d cope with a mouthguard either. On the other hand, I look at my 75 yo mother with severe sleep apnea and dementia and think “that is not going to be me in 20 years”.
How funny is this? Right after I posted my comment asking about the pulmonologist, I got an email from my cardiologist in response to my email of 2 weeks ago about the sleep study. She would refer me to a pulmonologist, who would refer me to a sleep specialist.
Your MD probably already checked, but deviated nasal septum, tonsils, etc can be a cause of sleep apnea.
Your sleep study didn't indicate issues as severe as mine, but I went on CPAP about 5 months ago and actually love it. I feel so much better...before I was not breathing for an average of 30 seconds, 30 times per hour...or 15 minutes per hour of not breathing while sleeping. And that was only discovered after I had two ablations, one for flutter and the other for Afib. Unclear if sleep apnea had been treated earlier, whether could have avoided Fib and Flutter entirely, but makes one wonder.
Number of Rx's your MD can prescribe that can help you get to sleep with a CPAP mask initially, and after a month or so it becomes routine. Little bit of a hassle, but if one has a bad enough case of sleep apnea, a CPAP will be the least of your worries...you will want it.
Thanks Barabas - you sound like my mum- she is technically dead for half the night with her apneas. If I didn’t have the ongoing arrhythmias at this point in time we may have tried a few other options before CPAP but if I’m going to have another ablation we need to make sure everything else is thoroughly investigated and treated first. Do you know if your apneas happen through all your sleep phases? I thought it interesting that mine are only bad in REM.
Hope things improve for you soon. I had a sleep test last year with mild SA result, 6 or 7 times an hour. I was advised current UK NHS recommendations see this as mild, no action to be taken. I find nasal strips help and along with more focus on a stress free life and exercises my sleep pattern is slowly improving.
However, my query for anyone is, as a result of your disrupted sleep for several years, have you noticed a reduced sense of smell and taste or is it just an age thing, I'm 65? I am a bit concerned as read a scare story about it being indicative of a slow down in brain activity.
In my report, only 11% of total sleep time...or 33 minutes..was REM. However, the report also had other stages N1, N2, and N3...and 87% of my sleep time was in N2. I have no idea what that means or how it differs from REM.
My test measured both apneas and hypopneas...if you combined those, I only had 4 out of 148 that occurred in REM. Most would have occurred in N2, whatever that is.
The most shocking thing to me in my report was that my oxygen level dropped to as low as 83%, which is very low and would increase heart demand significantly.
I was diagnosed with AF in 2016, at that time I was asked by a dr doing research on AF and sleep apnoea if I would take part in the research she was doing. I did 2 sleep studies, one in hospital and one at home, and was advised to get a cpac machine, which I used for 8 month, with a hated. It’s a very long story but, after PVI ablation, 5 , cardioversions, and just about every pill available, I had a pacemaker implanted and an AV Node ablation as my AF was permanent, that was over a year ago. I followed up with the respiratory doctor recently and did another sleep study and to her and my surprise I don’t have it anymore. Good luck i know several people who say the cpac machine have helped them enormously.
Thanks Jenny. Interesting to hear your sleep apnea disappeared after your pace and ablate. How long was it after your PVI ablation that you underwent the pace and ablate? I too have been on a lot of drugs which can’t control things properly and I’ve had 1 cardioversion and a PVI ablation as well as ablations dir SVT and Flutter.
Hi Kaz I had the PVI ablation in August2017, and was back in hospital in September, about 6 weeks later for 16 days, 7 of which were in intense care. It seems when I had the PVI ablation they discovered I had a lot of scaring on my heart, my specialist told me he would not have done the ablation had they known that, as that’s what is the cause of my AF, seems some virus had attacked my heart, possibly a very bad flue I contacted in New Guinea whilst on holiday.I had a duel lead pacemaker put in in October at that time and my cardiologist then tried me on various meds including Digoxin that was getting some negative press in regards to AF patients, so as a last resort he suggested the AV Node Ablation which I had in May last year.
That was the best decision I have made to date as I am about 80% better and feel I have my life back. Hopefully it’s something I won’t regret doing down the track, but for the time being I’m very happy with the results.
Wow! Such an interesting story about the sleep apnea. You and I sound so alike! I am also highly claustrophic and felt very scared having my ct scans recently...one for the abdomen and one for the heart. I have wondered about getting a sleep study done......I woke up the other night with a start knowing I had no breath and was terrified I was having a heart attack. I woke up most mornings exhausted...and I know looking at my fitbit the other day there were some absent heart rhythms during the night. How did you get the sleep study done and was it expensive....this whole ordeal has cost me quite a bit of money already. Does the cardiologist recommend this to be done or the local GP? Please let me know how you get one with your study.
My cardiologist referred me as I’ve had ongoing issues with arrhythmias over the past couple of years despite strong medications and procedures (1 cardioversion and 3 ablations). He wanted me to have the study done in hospital and not a home study as they can measure more things. The costs were fully covered by Medicare and my private health insurance. The 4 week CPAP trial is costing around $300 which isn’t covered and if I do have to buy a CPAP which will cost around $1500 - $2000 and I’ll get $720 back from my insurer.
If you are waking up exhausted you should definitely see about a sleep study.
I’ll write a post tomorrow after I’ve had my first check up with the sleep technician about the CPAP.
I know what you mean about the scans. I was prescribed anti anxiety drugs to help. The worst was the coronary CT scan which was more like an MRI machine- I’ve had 2 of those plus 2 MRIs on my ankle and even though my head was out of the machine it was still pretty awful.
the coronary ct scan I thought I would pass out. I was terrified and the metallic taste and then the sensation of wanting to wet myself and vomit was horrendous. I felt like a child....at 57! There is no way I could do an MRI I dont think. I would have a total panic attack similar to the one I had in Vietnam down a dark cave when I could not stand up or move forwards or backwards. Thank you for sharing the info with me about the costs of the sleep tests. My hernia surgeon cost be about 800 dollars above Medicare...I should have shopped around and asked about costs before getting it done but I didnt think.
I have only been on this whirly gig for such a short time but am already desperate for more information. I am so upset that I had this hernia operation and came out with this wretched illness....the surgery was not life threatening either.
I have taken my fitbit off as I found myself fixating over and over about the readings and when my heart beat spiked I was inconsolable!
If it’s any consolation the Fitbit doesn’t record accurately when in AF anyway. I have one but I’ve learnt not to take many of the readings too seriously.
I wouldn’t have even tried the tunnels in Vietnam so you’re braver than me. If I ever have to have an MRI on my head I’ll have to be knocked out.
I take it you has your surgery in Australia even though you now live in Hong Kong?
What amazes me is that none of my 3 Dr's suggested I get tested for sleep apnea? It does have an edge t on Afib. I found info online and was tested and now use cpap. I am also clostrofobic and chose the nose adapter which is called the pillow! It just sets beneath your nose. But you can't be a mouth breather as you have to keep mouth closed.
That’s what I have too with the CPAP. All my AHI readings now are very low (1-3) so in the normal range. I think the oxygen at night has really helped with my recovery from my last ablation 2 weeks ago. No signs of AF since.
Content on HealthUnlocked does not replace the relationship between you and doctors or other healthcare professionals nor the advice you receive from them.
Never delay seeking advice or dialling emergency services because of something that you have read on HealthUnlocked.
Have you got sleep Problems
Restless Sleep
Sleep apnea results 
