Blood oxygen level during the sleep and AFib

At what LOW level of blood oxygen during the sleep and for how LONG will the Afib be triggered? Seen a lot of articles about the link between sleep apnea and Afib, and this question about the link between the oxygen level and Afib comes to mind. Is there a threshold of blood deoxygenation in terms of oxygen level and duration that will trigger the AFib?



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/07/2022 04:59PM by Afibber20.

No, no number has been determined and I don't think it works that way. Sleep apnea is more of a chronic problem, not one where low O2 levels trigger afib. It's the effect of having chronically low O2 levels at night for years that promotes afib, not low levels one night.

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Carey
No, no number has been determined and I don't think it works that way. Sleep apnea is more of a chronic problem, not one where low O2 levels trigger afib. It's the effect of having chronically low O2 levels at night for years that promotes afib, not low levels one night.

Thank you for the insight.

Everyone is different, but if you have apnea, and your PO2 goes much below 88, you are not being treated well. You might need a bipap or ASV. But fibrillation can be brought on by anxiety, including fixating on the data your various machines and wearables keep insisting you should hearken to.
AF IS, absolutely, brought on by hearts that repeatedly have to race to get you oxygenated because that is adrenalin-induced, and adrenalin doesn't let the heart rest....which it ought to do while you are...you know...resting. At the same time, you are being aroused, which helps to raise the adrenergic response, which metoprolol and other rate/rhythm meds are meant to control, or to minimize. Counterproductive, to say the least.

When my AF came on the first time, we did every test. MIBI, ECG, blood, X Ray, Doppler, ultra, even an angiogram. Nada. Minor deposits, no ischemic heart disease. jugulars as clean as a whistle. Cardiologist said what's left is a polysomnography. Result: severe apnea. Well, said the Cardiologist, I guess we know why you have AF. You have an irritable heart that doesn't like what it has to do to keep you alive 24/7.

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gloaming
You have an irritable heart that doesn't like what it has to do to keep you alive 24/7.

In this post I show what my heart rate looks like without and with mouth tape at night. One heart rhythm strip where I started without mouth tape, woke up with a dry mouth & realized I'd been breathing through my mouth. Put tape on and went back to sleep. The difference is dramatic.

I taped starting on Night the Second on PAP. First night was a nightmare, but the kind RT offered two potential cures: a chin strap or taping. I decided taping was more positive. NexCare 'water resistant' tape has worked reliably for me since 2018. Just need to clean the mouth, apply with firm presses over the lips, and leave a small folded-over tab on one end of the tape for easy grabbing and removal in the event that you must remove the tape hastily. Happened to me twice in five years.

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GeorgeN

You have an irritable heart that doesn't like what it has to do to keep you alive 24/7.

In this post I show what my heart rate looks like without and with mouth tape at night. One heart rhythm strip where I started without mouth tape, woke up with a dry mouth & realized I'd been breathing through my mouth. Put tape on and went back to sleep. The difference is dramatic.

Interesting the mouth taping can make that much difference, though it seems counterintuitive. Did nasal strip help?

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gloaming
Result: severe apnea. Well, said the Cardiologist, I guess we know why you have AF. You have an irritable heart that doesn't like what it has to do to keep you alive 24/7.

Afib patients might have irritable heart, considering only a small portion of sleep apnea patients have the AFib. This heart irritability reminds me of IBS, though different organs.

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Afibber20
Interesting the mouth taping can make that much difference, though it seems counterintuitive. Did nasal strip help?

I never tried nasal strips. While it won't work for all sleep apnea cases, mouth taping is a simple approach and nasal breathing can make a big difference. I use the snoreless tape from this site: [correctbreathing.com] There quite a few other tape options. My 32 year old daughter prefers 3M Micropore Tape, available online and at most pharmacies.

The other part that is useful is learning to breathe "lightly" all the time. Practicing this during the day can condition your body to do likewise during sleep.

This book explains more: [buteykoclinic.com]
This is an mp3 leading you through a breath lightly exercise: [buteykoclinic.com]

Patrick McKeown's books Oxygen Advantage and The Breathing Cure (available on Amazon and here from his site: [oxygenadvantage.com] ) are very well referenced and go into the topic more. James Nestor's book, Breath, describes a study he did under the supervision of a Stanford prof where Nestor and another subject had their noses plugged for quite a few days and the effects noted.
[www.mrjamesnestor.com] You can also peruse his bibliography here: [www.mrjamesnestor.com]

Re George's post above on mouth tape, my wife has very sensitive skin; indeed the 3M paper tape I use gives her blisters while the green 3M Micropore tape works great. We get both at Walgreens or Rite-Aid.

We have been doing nasal breathing for over a year now and confirm that it does make sleep easier and more calm.

We're now trying it for outdoor exercise, too, and find its best to use when in areas not highly populated where we don't draw so much attention.

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ggheld
We're now trying it for outdoor exercise, too, and find its best to use when in areas not highly populated where we don't draw so much attention.

I've done nasal breathing while awake for all activity for many years. The only time I open my mouth is during 20:10 Tabatas on my 90's Schwinn Airdyne fan bike. The 20 seconds is absolutely as hard as I can go for 20 seconds, then easy for 10, rinse & repeat. My bike will report instantaneous calories/hour as a metric and I can hold 2750 for about 8 seconds before it falls off. I did 10:20's this morning and was able to do that nasal breathing. I'm "that guy" where I live, so don't give a rat about what people think. Some days, I will put on an exercise breathing restriction mask (for training CO2 tolerance), KAATSU BFR (blood flow restriction) bands, & use 12# Heavy Hands hand weights as I cruise shirtless through my neighborhood.

Wow! Now I know my Cardiologist sucked. At my 1st meeting she did ekg and put me on Xarelto. She ordered echo and stress test. I had just started being treated for sleep apnea. I would have loved all those test to narrow down cause of adib