7 month old with gasping episodes

[momoflevi]

I have a 7 month old who has been having gasping episodes averaging about twice a week for the past 3 months.  they always start in his sleep, sometimes waking him up, sometimes he sleeps through them, but he is restless during them.  he has acid reflux and has been changed to nexium and is doing so much better with the acid reflux.  an upper gi came back normal.  most of the episodes have been at night, with 2 during nap time in the middle of the day.  these can last from several minutes to an hour.  if he wakes up during one, he is responsive and alert, will drink and respond to you, but seems "bothered" like he doesn't know what is going on.  if they last for 30 minutes or more, he is extremely tired afterwords.  no turning blue or other signs of distress.  my pediatrician has not seen this or the pediatric gastro.  we lost a child 2 years ago to a heart defect, but an echo at birth only showed a minor backflow or leak in a valve.  I am having the peadiatrician contact the heart doctor to see if she wants to repeat the echo or if she has seen this before. can you help?

[Steven Y Park, MD]

Is your child still sleeping on his or her back? Despite being on Nexium, he probably still has reflux of stomach juices, especially when in deep sleep due muscle relaxation and possible obstruction to breathing. Definitely check with your cardiologist, as heart problems can mimic this as well. If nothing shows up, then consider taking your child to a sleep doctor. The good news is that in most cases, these episodes slowly resolve.

[momoflevi]

He sleeps on his stomach most of the time, but will flip onto his back during sleep.  From what i can remember, all of the episodes have started while he is sleeping on his stomach.  we are doing a sleep study during the first week of May.  Pediatrician doesn't want to talk to heart doctor because they don't believe that it is heart related.
Thank you very much for your answer.