central apneas

[hosenose]

what is the recommended level of central apneas? and how can you lower them?

[c0reDump]

Hi hoenose, welcome to the forums!

recommended level of central apneas? zero
how can you lower them? with effective xPAP therapy

Effective treatment typically means AHI is 5.0 or less.

[me50]

http://www.apneaboard.com/forums/Thread-...or-BPAP-SV

check this thread out

[robysue]

what is the recommended level of central apneas? and how can you lower them?

A few centrals now and then scored by a PAP machine are nothing to worry about. So how many centrals are we talking about?

In general, a sleep doc is not likely to worry about centrals scored by a PAP machine unless all of the following criteria are met:

• The treated AHI remains high---as in over 5.0
  
• The treated CAI is high---typically as in over 5.0
  
• The central apneas make up at least 50% of the events scored by the machine

If all three criteria are met, then the doc may order another sleep test to figure out whether the patient has developed clinically significant Complex Sleep Apnea, or CompSA for short.

If CompSA is confirmed by an in-lab sleep study, then the patient will most likely be moved to a bi-level or an ASV machine. Technically, the bi-level PAP machines aren't really designed to treat CompSA, but some insurance companies will insist on a bi-level trial because for some folks with CompSA, the change to bi-level provides enough of a reduction in mean pressure to allow the CompSA to resolve itself over time. But if it doesn't, or if the sleep doc is willing to fight for it, an ASV machine will eventually need to be prescribed.