CPAP use is triggering PVCs

Brand new to this forum. New CPAP user since 4/1/22. First couple weeks started out great with ramp at 4 and then pressure of minAPAP 4 to maxAPAP 20. Took to it well using nasal cradle and sleeping on my back. 100% compliant, low leak if any and sleeping improvements for sure.

Last week, therapist changed it to ramp at 4 and then minAPAP 6 and maxAPAP 20. She said my average nightly pressure was hanging around 8 and wanted to slowly get me there to get my AHI as low as possible.

I have moderate to severe OSA, but developed CSA slightly while starting the first two weeks. Really had no issue, but this last week using my machine has been triggering PVCs. I went from getting some good rest to not being able to tolerate at all. Any insight?

If you're already spending much of the night around 8, then the min should probably be around 8,

I was having PVCs, caused by zyrtek, stopped the zyrtek, pvc's went away.

what, in this instance, does pvc stand for?

zonker wrote: ↑

Fri Apr 22, 2022 10:45 am

what, in this instance, does pvc stand for?

It's a heart thing.
PVC Premature ventricular contractions
https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-con ... c-20376757

My standard reply for anyone having anything going on related to the heart is.....see your doctor.
I won't mess around with potential heart issues.

Pugsy wrote: ↑

Fri Apr 22, 2022 10:58 am

zonker wrote: ↑

Fri Apr 22, 2022 10:45 am

what, in this instance, does pvc stand for?

It's a heart thing.
PVC Premature ventricular contractions
https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-con ... c-20376757

My standard reply for anyone having anything going on related to the heart is.....see your doctor.
I won't mess around with potential heart issues.

thank you.

and i agree completely!

NachoMama wrote: ↑

Thu Apr 21, 2022 10:31 pm

get my AHI as low as possible.

What was your AHI before and after the pressure change?

Maybe a dumb question (I apologize) but how does one know when one is having PVCs?

msg43 wrote: ↑

Wed Jul 20, 2022 8:28 pm

Maybe a dumb question (I apologize) but how does one know when one is having PVCs?

if you click on the link that pugsy provided me, it may help you towards the answer you seek.

msg43 wrote: ↑

Wed Jul 20, 2022 8:28 pm

Maybe a dumb question (I apologize) but how does one know when one is having PVCs?

No such thing as a dumb question. In my case at least I could feel them very distinctly. It feels like your heart has stopped beating for a few seconds and until I knew what was going on it was very concerning.

In my case, the cardiologist put me on CPAP and the PVCs disappeared straight away. I agree with the advice above - for anything to do with the heart, see a doctor ASAP. It may be nothing to worry about, but do you want to take that risk?

zonker wrote: ↑

Wed Jul 20, 2022 8:51 pm

msg43 wrote: ↑

Wed Jul 20, 2022 8:28 pm

Maybe a dumb question (I apologize) but how does one know when one is having PVCs?

if you click on the link that pugsy provided me, it may help you towards the answer you seek.

Thank you for your response. I did click on the link. It seemed to me to explain what a PVC was but my question was "how do you know you are having one while you are asleep". The world of CPAP has opened my eyes (pun intended) to a whole world of things that are going on while I am unconscious but PVC was a new one to me. I guess the answer is: "You know when you are awake and you feel it"?

msg43 wrote: ↑

Thu Jul 21, 2022 10:00 am

I guess the answer is: "You know when you are awake and you feel it"?

Stick a "maybe feel it" on that statement. Sometimes people feel it and sometimes they don't.

In lab sleep studies do monitor the heart so if someone does throw PVCs they will catch it during the sleep study.
Otherwise not always easy to spot.
Holter monitor for a short period time is needed to verify asleep or awake PVCs.

https://www.mayoclinic.org/tests-proced ... c-20385039

As Pugsy said, you do not always notice PACs or PVCs. I was diagnosed with PAC several years ago, and my cardiologist changed the diagnoses to PVC three years ago. I have never noticed any thing when they happen. The only way I know they are happening is if they show up when I check my blood pressure twice a day. My blood pressure monitor shows an icon for irregular heartbeat and how many times it happens during the blood pressure check.

palerider wrote: ↑

Fri Apr 22, 2022 10:29 am

I was having PVCs, caused by zyrtek, stopped the zyrtek, pvc's went away.

I found this comment interesting as I also take Zyrtec and have for years for allergies. I take one in the morning and one before I go to bed. When you say you were having PVCs, what exactly did that feel like? I have a thread on here about issues I have been dealing periodically over the past six months where right as I start to doze off I have what feels like a mini apnea almost. It's hard to describe, but it's almost as if I very lightly and subtly snort and it keeps me falling to sleep. Sometimes they'll be three or four in a row in quick succession, like firing a machine gun. Been on CPAP therapy for over four years, but this didn't start happening to me until this past January. Lasted about ten nights and then suddenly stopped as quickly as it started. Was good for six months and then it started again about ten days ago, seemingly for no reason. My sleep doctor couldn't give me an explanation for it the last time it happened and Oscar isn't even showing any events.

Could these be PVCs? Does this sound similar to what you dealt with?

Have you tried not using Zyrtec for a couple of days to see if anything changes (in Oscar or your perceptions)? Whether or not you 'recognize' one when it happens, you might feel different enough if none happen to realize there's a change.

SamInLasVegas wrote: ↑

Sun Jul 24, 2022 1:27 pm

palerider wrote: ↑

Fri Apr 22, 2022 10:29 am

I was having PVCs, caused by zyrtek, stopped the zyrtek, pvc's went away.

I found this comment interesting as I also take Zyrtec and have for years for allergies. I take one in the morning and one before I go to bed. When you say you were having PVCs, what exactly did that feel like?

It didn't "feel" like anything, your heart just skips beats.

SamInLasVegas wrote: ↑

Sun Jul 24, 2022 1:27 pm

I have a thread on here about issues I have been dealing periodically over the past six months where right as I start to doze off I have what feels like a mini apnea almost. It's hard to describe, but it's almost as if I very lightly and subtly snort and it keeps me falling to sleep. Sometimes they'll be three or four in a row in quick succession, like firing a machine gun. Been on CPAP therapy for over four years, but this didn't start happening to me until this past January. Lasted about ten nights and then suddenly stopped as quickly as it started. Was good for six months and then it started again about ten days ago, seemingly for no reason. My sleep doctor couldn't give me an explanation for it the last time it happened and Oscar isn't even showing any events.

Could these be PVCs? Does this sound similar to what you dealt with?

Not at all.