High Altitude CPAP

[PaytonA]

A question just occurred to me. I spend about 4 weeks a year at about a week at a time at an altitude of around 5200 feet. are there any changes that need to be made as a result of the altitude or are there any things that I should look out for?

I have searched the forum somewhat and it looks like above 8500 feet there might be some pressure adjustment to make up for less oxygen per cubic liter of air. The pressure itself is self regulation since it is the relative not the absolute pressure.

Best Regards,

PaytonA

[zonk]

Operating altitude: Sea level to 2,591 m .... 8500 ft
http://www.resmed.com/au/assets/document...ac_eng.pdf

[Peter_C]

Possible different settings needed for humidity. With the location change, you may find the setting you use to be a bit off what is needed at the new location.

[PaulaO2]

Like zonk said, you won't need any adjustment. The machines now self-adjust up to a certain elevation. After that, it's a matter of doing some math. But at 5K feet, you're covered so no sweat.

[Sevensox]

I used mine around 8,000 ft for about a week with no problems except for my whizzing after a walk!

[igdoc]

At 5200 feet some people will notice a small increase in central events. An excellent article based in the Rocky Mountains suggests that the average number of central events at this altitude would be around 7 per hour compared with less than 5 per hour at a lower altitude. At 7100 feet it would be an average of over 19 central events per hour. Therefore you may notice a small increase in your AHI.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22171199

The likely explanation for this is that the reduction in Oxygen levels induces relative overbreathing (hyperventilation) which increases the chance of the Carbon Dioxide level dropping below the CO2 apnea threshold and causing central events. This is a similar principle (without the low O2) to CPAP induced central events or Complex sleep apnea.
Ian

[Hun]

I also noticed at a lower elevation the machine also get quieter:-) I live at 1226m, and it is noisier than at 400m.

[PaytonA]

I also noticed at a lower elevation the machine also get quieter:-) I live at 1226m, and it is noisier than at 400m.

Interesting observation. Maybe the pump needs to run a little harder to achieve the same back pressure.

PaytonA