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Has COPD And Heart Disease. On Oxygen And Medication. How To Read Fingertip Oximeter?
Question: "Hello"...I'm concerned about my 82 year old mother. She has COPD and has been on oxygen for about a year. She has a heart condition also-1/3 of her heart muscle is dead they have told us. We have been using a home fingertip oximeter to monitor her pulse rate and blood oxygen level. For the past 2 or 3 days...she has been extremely tired. Oximeter works on me but I can't get it to register a reading on her. Her medications: Dulera 2x a day, ProAir-HFA, Carvedilol 3.125 2x a day, Simvastatin 20mg 1x, Lisinopril 20mg 1x, aspirin 81mg, Alprazolam .25mg 3-4x a day, mirtazapine 30mg at bedtime. Oximeter has me very worried..should I be? Thanks.
Hi, thanks for using healthcare magic
Failing to register a reading on an oximeter can be due to (1) cold extremities- if her fingers are cold there would be constriction of the blood vessels in an attempt to retain warmth and the reduced supply affect the ability to get a reading (2) reduced oxygenation - with a history of heart disease and COPD , it definitely possible that the lack of a reading is indicative of reduced oxygenation especially with a history of increased fatigue. Fatigue can be a symptom of lack of oxygenation to the brain and muscles.
(3) faulty machine- this is extremely unlikely since it is registering a reading with you.
It would be best, if possible, to take her to be assessed by her doctor.
I hope this helps, feel free to ask any other questions
Failing to register a reading on an oximeter can be due to (1) cold extremities- if her fingers are cold there would be constriction of the blood vessels in an attempt to retain warmth and the reduced supply affect the ability to get a reading (2) reduced oxygenation - with a history of heart disease and COPD , it definitely possible that the lack of a reading is indicative of reduced oxygenation especially with a history of increased fatigue. Fatigue can be a symptom of lack of oxygenation to the brain and muscles.
(3) faulty machine- this is extremely unlikely since it is registering a reading with you.
It would be best, if possible, to take her to be assessed by her doctor.
I hope this helps, feel free to ask any other questions
Note: For further queries related to coronary artery disease and prevention, click here.
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
Answered by
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