Am I experiencing Sleep Apnea?
Since I have gained weight (close to 45 lbs, yikes) I have noticed that on some nights, I will be falling asleep or have just fallen asleep, when I cannot breathe and wake up. Then I am able to breathe again just fine and reposition myself and go back to sleep. It does not happen very often. But something that has been happening every few days, is that I am almost asleep, or have just fallen asleep, and my heart begins to beat at an extremely rapid pace; so fast that I cannot even count the beats and I get very scared. But then I sit up and after a few minutes, my heart beat will return to normal and I am able to go back to sleep. Could this be Sleep Apnea? Can Sleep Apnea cause damage to my heart? I am working hard to lose weight and have completely changed my eating habits: I’ve cut down considerably on my caffeine and only eat fruits, vegetables, lean meats, low-fat dairy and whole grains (occassionally). Does anyone know what this might be? I do not lay there and worry or think about anything at night, but could it be an anxiety attack or possibly Asthma?
Tagged with: Apnea • Experiencing • Sleep
Filed under: Sleep Apnea Causes
Like this post? Subscribe to my RSS feed and get loads more!
sounds like you are correct, also see http://helpguide.org/life/sleep_apnea.htm
Yours is case of tachycardia(fast heart beat) associated with Sleep Apnea syndrome. Have a look……
Tachycardia is often associated with sleep disorder called Sleep Apnea Syndrome(SAS). SAS is a condition in which during sleep the breathing stops for a few seconds when oxygen concentration falls and CO2 rises and the then the person suddenly wakes up. Many heart beat rhythm problems are associated with SAS, some might be serious.
A sleep test, called polysomnography is usually done to diagnose sleep apnea. There are two kinds of polysomnograms. An overnight polysomnography test involves monitoring brain waves, muscle tension, eye movement, respiration, oxygen level in the blood and audio monitoring. (for snoring, gasping, etc.) The second kind of polysomnography test is a home monitoring test.
A 24-hour Holter heart monitor can detect the reason for increased heart rate. EKG or Echo can not record these changes. My advice is to undergo investigation from this angle. Good Luck.