Alleviation of central sleep apnea by ventricular pacing in a patient with an implanted cardioverter defibrillator.
A 75-year-old man with a single chamber cardioverter defibrillator implanted for the management of sustained ventricular tachycardia developing after a healed myocardial infarction was admitted for evaluation of a sleep disorder. Polysomnography confirmed the presence of severe predominant central sleep apnea syndrome. The apnea-hypopnea index score decreased from 43.3 during spontaneous cardiac rhythm to 24.6 during VVI pacing at a rate of 70 beats/min. Ventricular pacing reduced the number of episodes of central sleep apnea/hypopnea without reducing the total sleep time, though it had no effect on episodes of obstructive sleep apnea/hypopnea.
Abe
Haruhiko
H
Second Department of Internal Medicine, University of Occupational and Environmental Health, Kitakyushu, Japan. haru-abe@med.uoeh-u.ac.jp
Kitamura
Takuro
T
Oginosawa
Yasushi
Y
Nakashima
Yasuhide
Y
D000368:Aged; D002304:Cardiac Pacing, Artificial; D017147:Defibrillators, Implantable; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D012074:Remission Induction; D020182:Sleep Apnea, Central / Q000628:therapy*