Hi all,
I'm asking this question regarding my grandmother. For about a year now, she has sudden drops in her oxygen levels to mid 80's for no apparent reason. It happens irrespective of what she's doing at the time be it sitting, sleeping or any light activity. She has had various tests like MRI neck and brain, brain Doppler study, EEG, holter monitoring, lung CT scan, but none of it proves anything conclusively as to why she has sudden drops in oxygen levels.
Her symptoms include:
1. Drops in oxygen saturation
2. Rise in pulse rate (her resting PR is around 70) but when her oxygen drops it goes up to 95.
3. Gasping for air
4. She describes it as a sinking feeling in her chest.
5. She feels extremely tired after such episode.
After an hour or so, her oxygen levels goes back to around 93-95. During such an episode, deep breathing helps in raising her saturation to 95 but drops to mid 80's once she resumes normal breathing.
If anybody could please tell me what might be causing her symptoms or what tests can be done to conclusively find out what's wrong, I'd be really grateful. Thank you for your help.