title: Sleep-disordered breathing in patients with atrial fibrillation and normal systolic left ventricular function.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is more common in patients with atrial fibrillation (AFib). Recently, an additional association between central sleep apnea/Cheyne-Stokes respiration (CSA/CSR) and AFib has been described. The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence and type of sleep-disordered breathing in patients with AFib and normal systolic left ventricular function.
  
  
  METHODS
  150 patients (110 men and 40 women, aged 66.1 +/- 1.7 years) underwent cardiorespiratory polygraphy, capillary blood gas analysis, measurement of NT-proBNP, and echocardiography to determine the diameter of the left atrium (LAD) and the peak systolic pulmonary artery pressure (PAP).
  
  
  RESULTS
  Sleep-disordered breathing was documented in 74% of all patients with AFib (43% had OSA and 31% had CSA/CSR). Patients with CSA/CSR had a higher PAP, a higher apnea-hypopnea index, a greater LAD, and a lower capillary blood pCO(2) than patients with OSA.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Patients with AFib were found to have not only a high prevalence of obstructive sleep apnea, as has been described previously, but also a high prevalence of CSA/CSR. It remains unknown whether CSA/CSR is more common in AFib because of diastolic dysfunction or whether phenomena associated with CSA/CSR predispose to AFib. Further research on this question is needed.
authors: Kardiologische Klinik, Herz- und Diabeteszentrum Nordrhein-Westfalen, Ruhr-Universität Bochum, Bad Oeynhausen, Germany. akohlstaedt@hdz-nrw.de
authors: Thomas
authors: T
authors: Bitter
authors: Christoph
authors: C
authors: Langer
authors: Jürgen
authors: J
authors: Vogt
authors: Mathias
authors: M
authors: Lange
authors: Dieter
authors: D
authors: Horstkotte
authors: Olaf
authors: O
authors: Oldenburg
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D001281:Atrial Fibrillation / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology*; D002639:Cheyne-Stokes Respiration / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology*; D015897:Comorbidity; D005260:Female; D005858:Germany / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D008297:Male; D017286:Polysomnography / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012307:Risk Factors; D020181:Sleep Apnea, Obstructive / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology*; D016277:Ventricular Function, Left