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Uses of Pulse Oximeter in Rhythm Monitoring
Most (all?) of you have seen the small clip-on-the-finger over a finger nail used in doctor offices to measure the Oxygen Saturation level in your blood (target 95% or better I believe). These doctors don't have a pulse display on their units or simply prefer the manual method to measure pulse rate, which both the nurse and doctor do, the doctor of course also listens to my heart with a stethoscope.
It is difficult for me to feel my pulse (a blessing in many respects) and I have for years used a stethoscope to count my pulses, heart rate. The only indication I have of the blood oxygen saturation is if I am dizzy or breathless more than what I recall as normal. I have thought that it would be helpful to be able to measure the O2 level at those times and even to run a DIY sleep test (this in general would require a recording meter).
When I saw this type instrument with a combined HR and O2 plus a pulse intensity readout for under $25 delivered I ordered one.
Here's what I learned for my profile and what I have concluded about a number of aspects of my AFib condition on my physical being. I compared/checked the device HR by counting my HR while using the clip on, good agreement. I checked my wife who does not have any diagnosed heart conditions and found reaso6 nable readings and a smoother more uniform heart intensity readout than I got for myself with AFib.. as expected. I take the intensity differences between her and me indicative, not quantitative even though it is provided via a 6 bar readout scale.
I found my O2 consistently obove 95% even when I was feeling O2 starved, like when standing up quickly. I also found my HR reasonable and in the 70s when resting and typically around 100 when in light physical activity.
Now for sleeping, or really maximum rested times.
I did not get a recording meter for $25, but as I wake up often during the night it is easy for me to clip the device on with minimum physical effort when I wake up. Some interesting findings (to me) - I am on a normal release Metoprolol (BB) and Calcium CB which is taken at about 10:30 PM, so by 1:30 AM I am still in the fully medicated area of the BB concentration (half life of 4 hours assumed).
Early in the morning (around 2 AM) I found my fully relaxed in bed HR as low as upper 50s and O2 levels as low as 90%. Later in the morning (around 5 or 6 AM) I found my HR around 70, suggesting the BB had lost a considerable % of its strength (now in its 2nd half live, about 75% metabolized) and the O2 levels over 95%. This seems reasonable and in fact during the day my seated and fully resting HR runs in the 70s to 80s. The lower O2 level of 90%, which is the threshold of trouble as I understand, at 2 AM is a minor concern to me. This many not be a trouble indicator under the condition of being under BB and CCB near full strength and just in/out of sleep resting state. I continue to check and see if my results are consistent/repeated.
In any case I find having this testing device affordable and quick way to check my HR, and also get the O2 saturation - the value of the heart intensity readout is not clear, but does give me some concern... guess it is the variations I hear with the stethoscope.
It is difficult for me to feel my pulse (a blessing in many respects) and I have for years used a stethoscope to count my pulses, heart rate. The only indication I have of the blood oxygen saturation is if I am dizzy or breathless more than what I recall as normal. I have thought that it would be helpful to be able to measure the O2 level at those times and even to run a DIY sleep test (this in general would require a recording meter).
When I saw this type instrument with a combined HR and O2 plus a pulse intensity readout for under $25 delivered I ordered one.
Here's what I learned for my profile and what I have concluded about a number of aspects of my AFib condition on my physical being. I compared/checked the device HR by counting my HR while using the clip on, good agreement. I checked my wife who does not have any diagnosed heart conditions and found reaso6 nable readings and a smoother more uniform heart intensity readout than I got for myself with AFib.. as expected. I take the intensity differences between her and me indicative, not quantitative even though it is provided via a 6 bar readout scale.
I found my O2 consistently obove 95% even when I was feeling O2 starved, like when standing up quickly. I also found my HR reasonable and in the 70s when resting and typically around 100 when in light physical activity.
Now for sleeping, or really maximum rested times.
I did not get a recording meter for $25, but as I wake up often during the night it is easy for me to clip the device on with minimum physical effort when I wake up. Some interesting findings (to me) - I am on a normal release Metoprolol (BB) and Calcium CB which is taken at about 10:30 PM, so by 1:30 AM I am still in the fully medicated area of the BB concentration (half life of 4 hours assumed).
Early in the morning (around 2 AM) I found my fully relaxed in bed HR as low as upper 50s and O2 levels as low as 90%. Later in the morning (around 5 or 6 AM) I found my HR around 70, suggesting the BB had lost a considerable % of its strength (now in its 2nd half live, about 75% metabolized) and the O2 levels over 95%. This seems reasonable and in fact during the day my seated and fully resting HR runs in the 70s to 80s. The lower O2 level of 90%, which is the threshold of trouble as I understand, at 2 AM is a minor concern to me. This many not be a trouble indicator under the condition of being under BB and CCB near full strength and just in/out of sleep resting state. I continue to check and see if my results are consistent/repeated.
In any case I find having this testing device affordable and quick way to check my HR, and also get the O2 saturation - the value of the heart intensity readout is not clear, but does give me some concern... guess it is the variations I hear with the stethoscope.
COMMUNITY LEADER
I discussed my use of my personal Oximeter with m Primary Care doctor today at my annual physical exam. I told him I measured a couple of reading in the very low 90s and evern 89% when I awake in the early morning hours.
I asked if he could prescribe a home Oximeter recording test for a mini-Sleep Study. He said, yes. I got a telephone call shortly after getting home from the testing service . They will bring the equipment to my home on Wednesday, check me out, and pick up the equipment the next day. They will forward the result to my doctor, I believe, immediately - assume by end of week.
I hope they don't fine me stopping breathing during sleep,wearing a CPAP mask to sleep in would be hard to adapt to. But I feel I have enough symptoms that I need to be checked, the doctor agreed.
I think Medicare/Insurance pays the major part of the cost, I will learn on that issue. I'd guess it can not be more than a few $ hundred at he most anyway. I suppose one could ask, my normal mode of operation, never order something before knowing what it costs, but in this case, as is true for most medical matters, I have to do it whatever it costs. One really can't shop around.
I asked if he could prescribe a home Oximeter recording test for a mini-Sleep Study. He said, yes. I got a telephone call shortly after getting home from the testing service . They will bring the equipment to my home on Wednesday, check me out, and pick up the equipment the next day. They will forward the result to my doctor, I believe, immediately - assume by end of week.
I hope they don't fine me stopping breathing during sleep,wearing a CPAP mask to sleep in would be hard to adapt to. But I feel I have enough symptoms that I need to be checked, the doctor agreed.
I think Medicare/Insurance pays the major part of the cost, I will learn on that issue. I'd guess it can not be more than a few $ hundred at he most anyway. I suppose one could ask, my normal mode of operation, never order something before knowing what it costs, but in this case, as is true for most medical matters, I have to do it whatever it costs. One really can't shop around.
COMMUNITY LEADER
My ongoing learning leads me to doubt the first reading displayed, I watch for at least two or three updates (a few seconds) before taking the reading of either HR or O2%. With this "Filter" I have not seen any O2% below the low 90s and usually 95% or above as should be the case.
The meter has been helpful in my watch on my BB change from Metoprolol to Atenolol, the subject of one or more other posts. It has also been nice to have in my shirt pocket when I get a dizzy spell, I can stop and make a quick check of HR and Oxygen. In most cases I see a lower than needed (apparently) HR to handle the activity change.
The meter has been helpful in my watch on my BB change from Metoprolol to Atenolol, the subject of one or more other posts. It has also been nice to have in my shirt pocket when I get a dizzy spell, I can stop and make a quick check of HR and Oxygen. In most cases I see a lower than needed (apparently) HR to handle the activity change.
COMMUNITY LEADER
A 24 hour recording device is available for about $100. Given my interesting and credible results with my real-time-only device I may invest.
The state of microelectronics, including inexpensive electronic memory, makes it very possible to make sophisticated electronics at low cost --- just look at your home computer. What we buy today, I am talking function/capacity not miniaturization, for $500 could not be purchased for less than $50,000 twenty years ago (1993).
Yes, the meter often comes up with an unlikely low reading for a cycle or two (not sure how long a cycle is, perhaps 5-10 seconds). I have seen 2 AM readings of a HR in the 60s, very low for me that move into the 70s when watched for several cycles.
I don't recall clearly when I got the 89% O2 reading but it wasn't at the end of my watch period. I watched for a minute or two and the O2 came up closer to 95% average.
I always sleep on my side, and when I wake I can say what side I had been sleeping on as the other side of my sinus will be stopped... roll over and the stop shifts sides. So whatever is causing the swelling is liquid based and moves to the low energy side prescribed by gravity. It is this sinus stoppage that gives me the suffocating feeling, not a stop of breathing altogether. My wife has trouble sleeping and she said she has never noticed me not breathing when she is awake. Then too, I sometimes wake her with snoring, another sign of Apnea, but I go months without snoring or at least without her hearing it.
I'll talk with my GP later this month.
The state of microelectronics, including inexpensive electronic memory, makes it very possible to make sophisticated electronics at low cost --- just look at your home computer. What we buy today, I am talking function/capacity not miniaturization, for $500 could not be purchased for less than $50,000 twenty years ago (1993).
Yes, the meter often comes up with an unlikely low reading for a cycle or two (not sure how long a cycle is, perhaps 5-10 seconds). I have seen 2 AM readings of a HR in the 60s, very low for me that move into the 70s when watched for several cycles.
I don't recall clearly when I got the 89% O2 reading but it wasn't at the end of my watch period. I watched for a minute or two and the O2 came up closer to 95% average.
I always sleep on my side, and when I wake I can say what side I had been sleeping on as the other side of my sinus will be stopped... roll over and the stop shifts sides. So whatever is causing the swelling is liquid based and moves to the low energy side prescribed by gravity. It is this sinus stoppage that gives me the suffocating feeling, not a stop of breathing altogether. My wife has trouble sleeping and she said she has never noticed me not breathing when she is awake. Then too, I sometimes wake her with snoring, another sign of Apnea, but I go months without snoring or at least without her hearing it.
I'll talk with my GP later this month.
You may have sleep apnea. My pulmonologist has said that sleep apnea may predispose atrial fibrillation. In 2010 I had sleep polygraphy - fortunately I did not have sleep apnea.
I think that over 90% is considered normal, or sometimes over 95. I spent only 5 minutes between 90 and 95%, and no minutes under 90. Mean SpO2 was 96.7, median 97.
Sometimes, when I am falling asleep I wake up and take a deep breath. I think that my heart rate falls to fairly low and therefore I feel shortage of breath. Or it may be caused by some panic.
Has anybody noticed that you have sleep apnea? My husband probably had it 20 years ago, He has rarely also nowadays some short periods of apnea. But he does not fulfill the criteria for real disease. He is using a tennis ball in a pocket on the backside of his pyjamas shirt to hinder sleeping on his back. It is working well.
Have you noticed that sometimes, when you put the oximeter on your finger, it first gives a lower reading? It may result from the device. The error time is, however, very short. Your nighttime readings may be true.
You are doing very interesting experiments with your device. I love my pulse oxymeter - I call it as my tamagochi. A sleep polygraphy, if you could get such a holtering, would be monitoring your heart rate and oxygen saturation all the night.
I think that over 90% is considered normal, or sometimes over 95. I spent only 5 minutes between 90 and 95%, and no minutes under 90. Mean SpO2 was 96.7, median 97.
Sometimes, when I am falling asleep I wake up and take a deep breath. I think that my heart rate falls to fairly low and therefore I feel shortage of breath. Or it may be caused by some panic.
Has anybody noticed that you have sleep apnea? My husband probably had it 20 years ago, He has rarely also nowadays some short periods of apnea. But he does not fulfill the criteria for real disease. He is using a tennis ball in a pocket on the backside of his pyjamas shirt to hinder sleeping on his back. It is working well.
Have you noticed that sometimes, when you put the oximeter on your finger, it first gives a lower reading? It may result from the device. The error time is, however, very short. Your nighttime readings may be true.
You are doing very interesting experiments with your device. I love my pulse oxymeter - I call it as my tamagochi. A sleep polygraphy, if you could get such a holtering, would be monitoring your heart rate and oxygen saturation all the night.
COMMUNITY LEADER
I am working on health issue that may or may not be related but one of the main reasons I purchased the Oximeter was to see if I could get any hard data suggesting I press for a sleep study - apnea. This comes more from my nasal congestion battle than from my AFig condition. I do wake up at night with some congestion panic, and wonder is my blood oxygen low.
Last night I had a bout of the waking in the early hours of the morning and feeling short of breath, or even suffocation. I immediately took a deep breath through my mouth and realized I had some "dry mouth" feeling so I know I was breathing through my mouth while asleep. I also checked and determined my left nostril was clear, only the right one was plugged. Checking the Oximeter I found my pulst in the low 70s (good) and the O2 was in the low 90s, even saw one 89%... then it started to increase into the 95% or higher range.
My data is subject to device and application error and my memory, I didn't write anything down.
Does a O2 of 89%, even if rare, when just sleeping, just woke up, something to be concerned about, perhaps the O2 saturation can be lower when in a deep rest state - the HR goes to its lowest point at that time.
Last night I had a bout of the waking in the early hours of the morning and feeling short of breath, or even suffocation. I immediately took a deep breath through my mouth and realized I had some "dry mouth" feeling so I know I was breathing through my mouth while asleep. I also checked and determined my left nostril was clear, only the right one was plugged. Checking the Oximeter I found my pulst in the low 70s (good) and the O2 was in the low 90s, even saw one 89%... then it started to increase into the 95% or higher range.
My data is subject to device and application error and my memory, I didn't write anything down.
Does a O2 of 89%, even if rare, when just sleeping, just woke up, something to be concerned about, perhaps the O2 saturation can be lower when in a deep rest state - the HR goes to its lowest point at that time.
Although I am using atenolol (Tenoblock 75 + 25 mg per day), I can hit the other margin of the screen during some time of the day. I have got accustomed to atenolol, because of using it since the eighties.
Nail varnish or othervise coloured or very thick nails may cause error.
Because it was thought that I could have exceptional hemoglobin (which I don't have), I read about hemoglobins in the internet. Some hemoglobin variants can bind oxygen very firmly and do not give it easily to tissues. Such hemoglobins may give false information about the state of oxygenation of the tissues, although the Hb's O2 saturation is good. But the percent of an exceptional variant may be low among the normal variant, so it may not cause a bad error (I don't know). Some people can also have higher amounts of methemoglobin. Its colour is different from the normal hemoglobin, and therefore it might cause error.
Nail varnish or othervise coloured or very thick nails may cause error.
Because it was thought that I could have exceptional hemoglobin (which I don't have), I read about hemoglobins in the internet. Some hemoglobin variants can bind oxygen very firmly and do not give it easily to tissues. Such hemoglobins may give false information about the state of oxygenation of the tissues, although the Hb's O2 saturation is good. But the percent of an exceptional variant may be low among the normal variant, so it may not cause a bad error (I don't know). Some people can also have higher amounts of methemoglobin. Its colour is different from the normal hemoglobin, and therefore it might cause error.
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