Apnea Monitors

GENERAL INFORMATION:

What is an apnea monitor? Apnea (ap-nee-uh) means to stop breathing. You, your baby or child, or someone you know may have to use an apnea monitor. Apnea monitors check for pauses (stops) of breathing lasting from 5 to 20 seconds. Apnea monitors can be used in the hospital and at home. The apnea monitor may have to be on all of the time, or only at certain times. An apnea monitor cannot cure a person, but it can signal if there are breathing or heart rate problems.

What conditions do people have that need apnea monitors?

• Babies with apnea of prematurity (AOP).
  
  
• Babies with apnea of infancy.
  
  
• Brothers and sisters of babies that have had sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS).
  
  
• Premature babies.
  
  
• Babies with tracheostomies (tra-kee-ah-stuh-mees). A tracheostomy is a hole in the neck used to breathe through.
  
  
• Bronchopulmonary (bron-ko-pull-mun-air-e) dysplasia (dis-play-juh). This is a lung disease of premature babies.
  
  
• Babies of drug abuse mothers.
  
  
• Babies with bradycardia (slow heart beat).
  
  
• People with aspiration pneumonia (new-moan-yuh).
  
  
• People with upper airway blockage.
  
  
• People with chronic lung disease.

• Bronchodilators (bron-ko-di-la-tors): This medicine may be needed to help open the airways from the lungs. Some lung diseases can cause these airways to tighten and become smaller. This medicine will help breathing become easier and feel better. It will also help get oxygen into the lungs and blood.
  
  
• Stimulants: This medicine makes blood flow and breathing get faster. These medicines may also work on the breathing center in the brain.
  
  
• Steroids (stair-oids): This medicine may be given to help lungs mature faster. These medicines also decrease inflammation (in-fluh-ma-shun) which is redness, pain, and swelling. There are many different reasons to take steroids. Don't stop taking this medicine without the okay from a caregiver. Stopping this medicine without a caregiver's okay can cause health problems.

• Alarms may sound for a pause in breathing of a pre-set time.
  
  
• Alarms may sound for a heartbeat that is too low or too high.
  
  
• An alarm may sound for blood oxygen levels that fall below a set amount.
  
  
• Low battery and battery caution (1 hour of battery remaining) can cause an alarm.
  
  
• If power is not shut off correctly, the monitor may alarm.
  
  
• If leads attaching person to monitor are loose or fall off, the alarm may go off.
  
  
• Most monitors have a green light, meaning the monitor is working.
  
  
• Monitors may also have a red light. This may mean there is a problem with the monitor, or it is turned off.
  
  
• A red or flashing light may mean that the person using the monitor needs help.
  
  
• There may also be other lights that blink or flash. Ask your monitor delivery person or your caregiver what the lights on your monitor mean.

• No movement of the chest as seen in breathing.
  
  
• A staring gaze.
  
  
• A red or blue color to the face.
  
  
• A stiff posture.
  
  
• Pale white or blue colored lips.
  
  
• Sudden loss of strength.
  
  
• Loss of consciousness.
  
  
• Infants: If your baby appears to have stopped breathing, try to stimulate him by rubbing him with a finger. You may also try striking the soles of your baby's feet. Never pick up and shake your baby. If your baby still does not cry or move, yell loudly for help. If there is still no movement from the baby, call 911 immediately. Then begin the steps of infant CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation). If you do not know how to do infant CPR, call 911 immediately.
  
  
• Adults: If an adult on a monitor has stopped breathing and has not re-started, try to wake him up. Shake his shoulders gently and speak loudly to him. If he still does not speak or move, yell loudly for help. If he is still not breathing, call 911 immediately. You may need to begin the steps of adult CPR. If you do not know how to do adult CPR, call 911 immediately.

• Cardiac Monitor: This monitor counts the number of times the heart beats. It will sound an alarm when his heartbeat goes lower than a set number of beats (bradycardia).
  
  
• Cardiorespiratory Monitor: This monitor counts both breaths and heart beats. It will sound an alarm if the number of breaths or heartbeats go lower than a set number.
  
  
• Pulse Oximeter (oks-ih-mih-ter): This is a machine that tells how much oxygen is in the blood. A cord with a clip or sticky strip is placed on a foot, hand, finger, toe, or earlobe. The machine will alarm if it cannot read the oxygen level or if you need more oxygen. Sometimes a person with apnea may not have enough oxygen in their blood. A pulse oximeter may be part of another type of monitor, or it may be used alone.
  
  
• Respiration Monitor: This monitor counts breaths taken and sounds an alarm if breathing stops for a set amount of time (apnea).

• Battery Back-up: The monitor may have a battery backup. If the power goes out the battery will start working even though the monitor is plugged in.
  
  
• Environmental (in-vi-row-men-til) Seal: The monitor may be saved from wetness and humidity, heat, cold and insects by a special covering.
  
  
• Individual Monitoring: Your caregiver will set the settings for the monitor to alarm that are specific to the patient's condition.
  
  
• Memory: Apnea monitors may have a memory recorder that will record past times of apnea or other events.
  
  
• Modem: A modem (computer part) may allow information recorded by the monitor to be sent through a phone line. This information may go to a computer, which sends back other information to the monitor.
  
  
• Self-Monitoring: An apnea monitor will notice and alert you when it is not working right. It may show a light or sound an alarm.

• A monitor may detect breathing when there is none. Then, no alarm would be sounded.
  
  
• A monitor may detect no breathing (apnea) and sound an alarm when the person is actually breathing.
  
  
• The monitor may mistake movement from the person for apnea, and sound an alarm.
  
  
• The monitor may sense cardiogenic (kar-d-o-jen-ick) artifact (ar-ti-fact) and sound an alarm. Cardiogenic artifacts come from the heart and may be normal for some people.

• Having your child or someone you know using a monitor can be stressful. It may often disturb you and everyone else in the same house. It may cause problems with jealousy among other children. They may feel they are not receiving the same amount of attention as the person on the monitor.
  
  
• If your baby is on the monitor, you may have to write down when apnea happens. You may also have to write down the activity and position of your baby when it happens. You may have to limit loud noises so that you can hear the alarm if it sounds. Someone must always be available to respond to the alarm.