Pulse rate during REM Sleep

[Sleepy Willy]

Anyone else seeing pulse rates like this during REM sleep?

[mesenteria]

It seems unusually extended to me.  REM takes place over a few minutes at most, not for 30+ minutes.  I do NOT mean to alarm you, and I only ask this in case it's something serious that you need to attend to, but could it be AF?  Atrial fibrillation?

[Sleepy Willy]

Thanks, not alarmed, but I did definitely notice it.

I'm having a sleep study this week, so hopefully they will catch it. Although some nights it does not happen, but the pulse is a bit elevated overall.

The BP monitor has never registered AFib, but I have no idea if it can be transient.

[mesenteria]

A BP monitor probably isn't designed to detect AF, although some must be these days, the more costly ones.  Normally it's a heart monitor with ECG capability.  I'm happy that my Galaxy 4 watch just got updated and finally has the app to detect AF.  This happened six months after I purchased it.  It doesn't warn me as a monitor, but if I engage the app and do what I need to with a finger on a button, it will detect AF if it is taking place and let me know.

You may have paroxysmal AF and not know it, or maybe ventricular tachycardia is what is being shown.  I hope your test shows something so that they can deal with it if necessary.

[Sleepy Willy]

Thanks, my Galaxy 3 never did get the fancy apps that I paid for. They never released the firmware for it.

[kappa]

I agree that it's unlikely to be due to REM - REM latency (time to first REM) is usually much longer.

My SleepU doesn't track AF pulse rate that well - I suspect it's too irregular. It could be some other form of SVT. Does your watch track pulse as well? Are you able to see any artifacts there that correlate with these events? They may not look the same, but could be different to "normal".

If it doesn't get caught in the sleep study (how often does it happen based on captured data so far?) you should tell your doctor and get a holter monitor until you catch it.

[Crimson Nape]

Since the Wellue/Viatom oximeters sample every second and record an entry every 4 seconds. Depending on the AF's frequency, I can see the oximeter having the potential to gloss over the pulse irregularities.

[Sleepy Willy]

The pulse has been high for a bit, so there is definitely an underlying issue, including shortness of breath, which they are aware of. I wore the monitor for 48 hours, but that was a while ago. I should go back to the cardiologist, as the GP will just refer me anyway. The spikey pulse rate seems pretty erratic, so the Sleep Study may or may not catch it.

My monitor is the SnoreO2, which is a cousin of the SleepU, so I'm sure it works the same.

[kappa]

Yes, SnoreO2 appears to be a display-less (predecessor?) version of the SleepU.

Just for comparison, here's what my SleepU records when I'm in AF. The actual (ventricular) rate is around 100-140bpm but it's very irregular so non-ecg style devices get confused...
   

[Sleepy Willy]

The SleepU seems to have a higher sampling rate? 

Yes, the SnoreO2 is the Lookee branded  predecessor of the SleepU.

I also have a CheckMe, but I assume it's the same as the SleepU.