Heart palpitations after starting cpap?

So I am a nearly 300 lb strongman/powerlifter. Not really fat but I have quite a bit of muscle. I am 6'4 I was never officially diagnosed with sleep apnea. My girlfriend has been telling me I snore lately so I actually just went out and bought a CPAP machine. I got the Phillips Dream station automatic. I've been using it for about a month now. I use the Phillips dreamwear gel pillow mask. I don't really believe I have sleep apnea but I figured it couldn't hurt to just use one. On the dream mapper app with the AHI the highest I've gotten is a 1 and I average about .6 most nights. My ramp is set at 10. That's where I feel it's the most comfortable and I am getting adequate air without it being too much pressure to where I have trouble breathing out.

Even without the CPAP I never woke up tired I am always fully rested in the morning and good energy throughout the day. I just thought with the snoring I should take care of it. I did find though even without the CPAP if I sleep on my side I don't snore, it's just on my back.

Well on to the topic at hand though. So I have always been someone that has had heart palpitations but I pretty much eliminated them through proper diet and using salt and magnesium and getting adequate potassium. I've also been to a cardiologist and had the full scan as well as wore a monitor. The doctor said there is nothing wrong with my heart. So they had been gone for quite a while but over the past I would say week I noticed they are coming back and seemingly more frequent than ever before. It seems to be most frequent in the morning then they gradually die down as the day goes on.

I've been trying to think about anything I have changed in my diet or anything and the only thing I really can think of is that I started using the CPAP machine. I did some research and saw that I am definitely not the only one that has experienced heart palpitations after starting a CPAP. My question is do you guys think it is foolish to use one if you don't officially have sleep apnea, could it do harm? Is it possible it's the CPAP causing the palpitations? If so, why do they do that?

Rbtrucking wrote: ↑

Wed Aug 12, 2020 5:54 am

do you guys think it is foolish to use one if you don't officially have sleep apnea

No, sometimes one can reasonably conclude sleep apnea by symptoms and the CPAPs ability to measure and respond to events.

Post some charts.

Rbtrucking wrote: ↑

Wed Aug 12, 2020 5:54 am

could it do harm?

Not likely.

Rbtrucking wrote: ↑

Wed Aug 12, 2020 5:54 am

Is it possible it's the CPAP causing the palpitations?

"Is it possible" questions are terrible questions. The answer is almost always "Yes", no matter what follows "Is it possible".

Is it possible? Yes.
Is it likely? No.

CPAP has a proven history of helping heart conditions.

You also stated you have a history of heart palpitations, prior to using CPAP.

Rbtrucking, I don't know the answer to your question about your heart, but I do want to mention that there are other ways to try reducing snoring. You might want to consider some of them so you could see whether the palpitations diminish.

One is to use a snore collar or a soft cervical collar to help you keep your jaw up and mouth closed. Another is to use tape on your lips, to keep them closed. Somnifix strips would be a good product to experiment with. You can also do both together.

Finally, you can see whether you can train yourself to stay off your back. Quite a few people find that they can do it. To get some ideas, try going to Amazon and searching with the phrase "side sleeping back pillow." You'll see a backpack-type thing and some wedge pillows. These may suggest home-made options you could try. For example, some people will put a pocket t-shirt on backwards with a tennis ball in the pocket.

Use the cpap.
It can't hurt, but it can save your life.

I do know that I have slight palpatations and when I got on CPAP my Adrenaline kicked back in. I wasn't getting Adrenaline burst before but after CPAP I did. Probably not related but I thought it might be worth mentioning. I definitely noticed more palpatations with the adrenaline burst, but it went away eventually (the palpatations, not the adrenaline burst.)

Anxiety.
Get a referral to a specialist.

I just started CPAP and also noticed heart palpitations. Didn't have em before. I think it's just due to poor sleep because I'm not used to it yet.