Nail beds, sleep apnea and the heart

For any people in the medical community (or anyone who has dealt with this)...

Is there a REAL connection between the color of your nail beds, or number of lunulae (nail moons) and your heart health or other issues, i.e., sleep apnea?
Is this something that doctors or cardiologists even really use as a diagnostic tool?
Is it just Internet fluff from "wellness" and "health" websites?

I'm going to my primary on Thursday to ask him to refer me to get an echocardiogram. With all of tvmagnum's issues, some weird chest tightness, some ectopic hearbeats (PVCs?) I have been feeling (went to the ER and EKG was normal, cardiac enzymes are normal), I want to make sure I don't have any lingering heart issues from the years of untreated apnea. My therapist recommended I ask him even just for peace of mind to help get past the loop I'm in obsessing about my health.

Could it be stress and anxiety? Absolutely, but I want to be sure, especially since we're trying to bring another little one into the world.

So... has anybody else noticed a change in their nail beds before/after CPAP? Here are a couple of photos of my stubby, hairy fingers. Sorry they're a little blurry. They look a little too red or dark pink, which supposedly can be a sign of heart problems. Would love some feedback from y'all (not a diagnosis).

No cardiologist I know uses the nail beds as a guide to heart health. If they are pink, that means you are getting blood flow to them, which is what you want. Unless you find a certified medical study on this, I would simply assume some is trying to blow smoke up your mask.

I know as a woman we used to have to remove all nail polish when we went for surgery but that is because the anesthesiologist(?) used to use the look of your nails as an indicator of the oxygen levels - I think they use oxymeters now a days.

There used to be a lot of ways like that were used before tests were developed to diagnose issues - they are helpful if you are practicing deep in the bush several days from a hospital.

Well, my nail beds are pink for sure, and my oxygen at the ER last Friday was 98-100% on room air. I'm working on relaxing.

Yes doctors do indeed check nail beds for clues to peoples general health. There are many conditions that can affect you nails. As for me, I am still looking for an answer to a nail problem. I started having something called splinter hemmorhages. It is basically a condition where you bleed underneath your nails in such a way it literally looks like splinter stuck in your fingernail. When you google this condition, the first thing it points to is bacterial endocarditis, an infection of the heart. I had the doctor checked me out and he ran tests but nothing ever showed up. I have diabetes and ankylosing spondylitis and these two conditons are not associated with my nail problem I am told. So I am still looking.....

Can't help ya with the nail beds. Have you had a stress test? My PCP sent me in for one because even with CPAP I was still tired and fatigued. The test went well but a carido Dr. saw something abnormal with the ultra sound. One week later I went in for an angioplasty sp and they found my right coronary artery 85% blocked. I had no symptoms from the blockage. Now I have a stent implant and am still tired/fatigued. Good Luck, Mike

taberge: I hope you find your answer to the splinter hemmorages. I had one a while back, but it was an isolated incident and probably from trauma to the nail. Do you work with your hands a lot?

mikee: I had a treadmill stress test a few years ago (pre-CPAP) that came out negative. I have never had an echo (ultrasound) of my heart, which is why I want to have one to see if there are any abnormalities. I'm only 36, but heart problems can happen at any age as far as I know.

I guess I thought the ultrasound was part of a stress test, at least that's what they did with me. One before and one after. Are heart conditions in your family???

tattooyu wrote:taberge: I hope you find your answer to the splinter hemmorages. I had one a while back, but it was an isolated incident and probably from trauma to the nail. Do you work with your hands a lot?

mikee: I had a treadmill stress test a few years ago (pre-CPAP) that came out negative. I have never had an echo (ultrasound) of my heart, which is why I want to have one to see if there are any abnormalities. I'm only 36, but heart problems can happen at any age as far as I know.

My uncle died of a heart attack at the age of 30 during a game of soccer so I have a family history. I've had an EKG which indicated an unusual rhythm, the activity was more like a professional athlete than a software engineer So i had the ultrasound done and everything was fine. It is worrying though if you have family history or not. I have blood work done for cholesterol done every 3-4 months now as a precaution.

I'm not sure about the nails and what they can indicate. Mine are not smooth, they have lots of ridges and split at the ends if i let them get as long as yours in your photo so i have to keep them clipped back. I wonder if that's an indication of a problem

Tattooyu, from your photos...your nails look pretty good. You've got good color, the "moon" is showing, and while you have some vertical ridging it's not bad and is probably just a part of aging (not meaning you are old -- just getting older).

I have several chronic/progressive health conditions and my nails tell my docs a lot. For instance...my renal problems have caused all of my toenails to turn whitish with a rosy brown ring around the tops. Odd looking, for sure.
And...my fingernails (nail beds) used to be kinda bluish until I got on oxygen/bipap with oxygen. Now they're a gorgeous and healthy looking pink.

Any doc worth his salt can look at your nails and tell a good bit about your health -- whether that be good or bad.

mikee: There is a stress echo, which is a combination of a treadmill test and an echocardiogram, and also a resting echo, which is only the ultrasound part.

Uncle_Bob: My paternal grandfather died of a heart attack in his 70s, and his brothers had some heart problems. No immediate family member has heart problems at all. My mom has mild MVP (mitral valve prolapse) which is benign.

Demeter_Soul: Sometimes I think my nails have good color and sometimes I don't. There is a blush above my lunulae (which I only have on my thumbs) that I have read COULD be indicative of heart issues. Other times, I feel like I have Half-and-Half nails. I'll ask my doctor when I go see him tomorrow.

Thanks everyone!

Tat honey, people like you and me sometimes have to remind ourselves not to read the internet too much, even this forum.

I'm not saying you're as big a hypochondriac as I am, but sometimes I overdose on reading this forum and start to feel like I'm having all the same symptoms I'm reading.

It was really bad two weeks back at work when I was reformatting all the Health Care Plans for my school district. Not only am I now convinced I have Autism and ADD/ADHD, but also Tachycardia, and any number of other medical problems. I told my nurses I needed a break from all that for awhile before I checked myself into the Emergency Room.

Keep breathing honey. I think your anxiety is talking to you.

Huggers,
B.

Babette, I hear you, and I am really wanting to just relax and let go. It takes practice though.

Needless to say, I have an appointment today and I am going to ask for the echo. What it PROBABLY is, aside from anxiety or stress, is possible post-cholecystectomy syndrome. I had my gallbladder out in 2007, and I really think it may be just backlash from that. Something I will definitely bring up to my doctor today.

My strange growth of fingernails, 12 weeks after CPAP. (I was reading online that human fingernails grow 0.02 inches per week. 0.02 * 12 = 0.24. This picture looks about a quarter of an inch from the end.)
(What's weird is, the only nail I see this on is my right index finger.)

Tattooyu, similar can be the result of COPD. They've been checking my fingernails for years. Some say I have "clubbing", some say I don't. Your oximetry was good tho.

Pulmonary hypertension can also cause similar. But trust me, you don't want to undergo the test for that unless there are strong reasons to suspect that. The only tests I ever had to indicate possible hypertension that revealed a likelihood of my having PH was the simple doppler echocardiogram. And, of course, they would be looking for PH in anyone w/COPD. But an echo can't actually be used to Dx PH.

Lineagee, I had one finger similar to your for years. In my case it was the result of my job. I was a rural letter carrier for 27 years. My right "pointer" finger received several "hits" a day whilst casing my mail in the morning and then that was also the finger I used to wrap around the mailbox lip to open the mailbox so again was taking several more "hits" a day.