Any thoughts on why my heart rate increases when using CPAP?

[hejohoo]

I am new to using CPAP and have only been using it for 3-4 days so far. Normally I would use a mouth guard that was also made for sleep apnea but I wanted to try switching to CPAP to see if I could get better and more consistent results since I doubt how much the mouth guard actually helps.

Anyhow I also monitor my sleep with an Oura ring and I have noticed my heart rate have increased on the nights I have used the CPAP. My heart rate normally shows that my lowest heart rate for the night is around 60-62 bpm and my average is usually around 65-67 bpm

However on the nights of using the CPAP my lowest is recoded as around 65-67 bpm and average 70bpm.

Also my HRV which is already usually very low at around an average of around 25ms and a max of around 40-45ms has an average of 15ms and a max at around 30ms on the nights of  using the CPAP.

Have anyone else experienced something like this or have any theories on why it is happening?

My thoughts are is that the heart should be more calm and pump less the better and less stressful sleep you have and with less apneas but this show the opposite?

My myAir app show that I have around 5 apnea events per hour. I have ordered a SD card reader so I can import into OSCAR soon.

Is it possible because I am still not used to the CPAP? I am using a nasal pillow mask.

My settings are a min pressure of 7 and a max of 15 and I have EPR set to 2. Also the CPAP is set to autoset with no ramp.

[gainerfull]

Once you have your data imported into OSCAR the answer will be revealed. Considering you're having 5 events per hour and just started treatment leads me to believe there is room for improvement to your CPAP settings for a better therapeutic outcome.

[stargazing]

I found I have similar issue. My Garmin watch tracks my heart rate, and I observe my heart rate increases to a steady 70 when using CPAP. To compare, heart rate is about 60 for normal sleep without CPAP or apnea, 75~80 with apnea, 55 when I sleep in a sitting posture. So you can see the heart rate is higher with CPAP than normal. 

I researched online but most people report that CPAP helps reduce their heart rates. I found only your post and https://www. a DME-owned forum .com/viewtopic/t61766/Increased-heart-rate-when-using-CPAP.html but I could have missed something. You can check out the other post which has some good discussions but no conclusion. 

I will be trying to change some CPAP settings (such as EPR, min pressure, etc.) and see if it helps.

[hejohoo]

I found I have similar issue. My Garmin watch tracks my heart rate, and I observe my heart rate increases to a steady 70 when using CPAP. To compare, heart rate is about 60 for normal sleep without CPAP or apnea, 75~80 with apnea, 55 when I sleep in a sitting posture. So you can see the heart rate is higher with CPAP than normal. 

I researched online but most people report that CPAP helps reduce their heart rates. I found only your post and https://www. a DME-owned forum  .com/viewtopic/t61766/Increased-heart-rate-when-using-CPAP.html but I could have missed something. You can check out the other post which has some good discussions but no conclusion. 

I will be trying to change some CPAP settings (such as EPR, min pressure, etc.) and see if it helps.

A bit of a late reply, but did you find any settings that improved this?

It does feel bad that the heart have to work harder when using the CPAP vs without. Is not sort of the whole point of treating the apneas to make the body relax more and not have to "work" at night? To have the heart beat faster through the night feels like sort of the opposite (and lower HRV). 

I also wonder how common this actually is but most people might not measure their heart rate at night with or without the CPAP so most might not even know if this is the case or not for them?

I have tried to sleep a few night without CPAP and while I do get some feeling of dry mouth that I don't get with the CPAP (so I assume I mouth breath some without it) I actually don't feel more tired from a night of sleep without the CPAP. More to the contrary with more energy and even a bit better mood I feel like. But I can't say conclusive. It does bother me though that my heart rate is lower without the CPAP than when using it. It does feel really counter to what it should be?