Concerned about heart rate fluctuations
Hi, I'm not officially diagnosed with apnea as of yet (in the process of it) however OSA is highly likely. I've been monitoring my vitals during sleep using a fitness band, and while I'm aware it is not medical equipment and won't be 100% accurate, I'm seeing some heart rate patterns that are honestly scaring me.
While it doesn't fluctuate as wildly as my breathing, my heart rate (judging by the data of the past week) while sleeping seems to be consistently higher than my resting HR and constantly rises or drops by significant amounts. I'm a young person with no currently diagnosed heart conditions.
Could anyone diagnosed with OSA tell me if their experience is similar, or if this could possibly be an indication of higher severity? I have an appointment with my primary care provider in a month but I'm concerned things could get worse by then. I'm worried my parents and the office aren't treating this with the urgency they should, but I don't have experience and thus I'm reaching out to you for either reassurance or (in your opinion) affirmation that my concern is warranted.
Thank you and have a good day.
Hi
. I totally understand where you are coming from. According to my FitBit sleep metrics, I shoudn't be here right now. I panicked when I first saw the readings and I figured there had to be some truth to them, but the reality is that I am healthy and the FitBit sleep metrics were causing me undo stress. We are not medical experts, so please do see your doctor. Your readings might very well be an indication that something is wrong. This is a good oportunity to get a thorough evaluation and make sure all is well. Don't let your doctor downplay your concerns. Even if all is well, it will worthwhile to go through testing to gain peace of mind. I hope all is well and that you are super healthy, but I am glad you are addressing it. Keep us posted, if you don't mind. I'll be thinking of you. Lori (Team Member) Thank you for responding! It does make me feel a bit better. I'm trying not to worry about the sleep data too much, I'm not a medical expert of course and it's not my place to diagnose any issue. Like I said I have an appointment with my primary care provider, in the meantime I'll keep keeping track of what I'm experiencing so I'm ready for that appointment 😀 Keeping some kind of journal until your appointment is a great idea and it can be really helpful to get some baseline evaluations no matter how old you are. I hope your doctor finds you are 100 percent healthy and I am happy my experience put you at ease, but I am glad you are seeing your doctor. It's always best to play it safe. - Lori (Team Member)
