BPM - Beats Per Minute & Sleep

Most of my life I was in good physical condition; my heart rate was in mid 50s at rest and sleeping through the night was never a problem. Since PM pacing began 2 + years ago (set at 70 BPM) I wake every 50 to 60 minutes each and every night. I have asked the Doc several times since the pacing began 2 + years ago that maybe lowering the 70 BPM setting would help me sleep through the night? Doc says NO! You Need The 70 BPM and wont give an explanation why 70 BPM is necessary. So I am living with 50 to 60 minute sleep pattern.
I noticed on my last PM interrogation (yesterday) that the PMs Rest Rate- setting is turned - Off ? Should this setting be turned - On ? Could the setting being Off be wrong (an oversight) and causing my sleep problem?
What I would give for the uninterrupted full nights sleep I used to get before the PM !

6 Comments

BPM Beats Per Minute & Sleep

by BatteryPwrd - 2014-01-23 06:01:06

Most of my life I was in good physical condition; my heart rate was in mid 50s at rest and sleeping through the night was never a problem. Since PM pacing began 2 years ago (set at 70 BPM) I wake every 50 to 60 minutes each and every night. I have asked the Doc several times since the pacing began 2 years ago that maybe lowering the 70 BPM setting would help me sleep through the night? Doc says NO! You Need The 70 BPM and wont give an explanation why 70 BPM is necessary. So I am living with 50 to 60 minute sleep pattern.
I noticed on my last PM interrogation (yesterday) that the PM Rest Rate - setting is turned - Off ? Should this setting be turned - On ? Could the setting being Off be wrong (an oversight) and causing my sleep problem?
What I would give for the uninterrupted full nights sleep I used to get before the PM !

You have the right

by KAG - 2014-01-23 10:01:45

to know. I don't understand why the Dr won't explain his reasoning for the low rate set to 70. Mine is 60 and is OK for me. If your PM has a sleep mode (rest rate?) I'd look into getting it turned On to see if it helps.

Perhaps if your Dr won't help it's time to get a different one?

Frustrated

by Theknotguy - 2014-01-23 11:01:22

I know you're frustrated. Checked your bio - 2 years older than me. So....

You didn't say if you have sleep apnea or not. That would be a factor. Good physical condition is a plus. Info from PM report.

I have sleep apnea so my cardio guy won't turn on sleep mode. I stop breathing and, as I recently found out, my heart slows down too. So anything that would allow the heart to slow down / stop is out of the question. So no sleep mode on the PM and I like it that way.

In deep sleep my autonomic nervous system shuts down and so does my heart rate. So my cardio guy is keeping my bpm at 60 to make sure I get plenty of blood to where it's supposed to go. I don't notice the 60bpm and I now get a good nights sleep.

If you don't have sleep apnea, I'd still go see a sleep doctor (a doctor for sleep apnea). You may have undiagnosed sleep apnea. Electrical heart problems and sleep apnea can go hand-in-hand. At the very least you can tell him you're only getting 50 - 60 min per sleep session and he may have some alternatives. I won't say what because there is a whole range of stuff that might be causing your problems.

One example: My brother only gets about two hours of sleep at a time at night. Why? He has cats and they like to wake him up every two hours to do cat things. I won't tell you what I'd do to the cats but I'd make sure I got more than two hours of sleep at a time.

Another thing might be anxiety about sleeping. You're waking up, checking the clock, which kicks in the adrenaline, wakes you up. It could be something just as simple as hiding the clock. You wake up, can't check on how long you're sleeping and go back to sleep.

It's a fallacy that people are supposed to get eight straight hours of sleep. Some studies have shown the normal cycle is to get 4 to 5 hours, wake up, then go back to sleep for another 3 to 4 hours. I've done that for years. (Had to hide the clock.) So if you accept the sleep, wake up, sleep cycle, you wake up, say to yourself, "I woke up.", roll over and go back to sleep.

Physical activity: You didn't say how much. But if you're only getting about an hour per sleep session, your physical activity has probably gone to hell too. So maybe talking with your cardio or family doctor about an exercise regimen may help. (Too tired to wake up and look at the clock.)

Medications: Any medications that may be waking you up? May want to check with pharmacy on that.

Voltage on PM: They had me at a higher voltage on my PM for the first 90+ days. I was getting a good kick with each heartbeat. Good for the body, bad for sleep. They dropped the voltage on my PM to "conserve the battery", but it also helped with my sleeping.

Cardio doctor: If you're not getting anywhere with your present cardio guy is there anyone else in his group who is willing to talk to you? If the guy isn't getting you the information you need you may have to go with someone else. I stopped in the office of my previous cardio guy with a haemoglobin level of 7. (Normal is 14.) He sent me home as OK, no problem. I was in the hospital that night bleeding to death. He is no longer my cardio guy. Yeah he's a doctor but if the chemistry isn't right it may be time to get a new one. (Hint: Talk with your medical insurance company - they can tell you who is in your area that takes your medical insurance. )

I was down to 1 1/2 hours of sleep a NIGHT with my sleep apnea. So, believe me when I say I understand how you feel. It's no fun going through the day feeling like you're swimming in molasses. There's a lot of depression that goes with that too. So...

Bite the bullet, even though you may feel to tired, start working on some alternative help. It's out there. Sometimes you just have to be persistent.

Hope things get better. Let the people on this forum know what you found out.

Theknotguy

BPM

by Enrique - 2014-01-23 11:01:49

My PM is set for a low of 55 bpm. It works for me. I sleep very well.

A minimum of 70 bpm seems high to me.

Thanks Everyone

by BatteryPwrd - 2014-01-24 07:01:50

I will be looking into solutions that were shared here.
A lot to consider. Thanks!

Settings

by Tick-tock - 2014-01-25 12:01:10

My rest rate is also turned off. However my rates are 60-120 ( just what works best for me) I have had several tweeks to my settings to find a happy medium. I do have some sleep disturbances as well, but not quite as bad as yours. I see no reason why they can not drop your rate down a bit.if you do not get the answers you are looking for, maybe you could see another EP in his practice. Someone who listens to you as a patient and not just the numbers your pm spits out :) good luck!!

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