title: Sleep disordered breathing in patients with acute coronary syndromes.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Although the prevalence of obstructive sleep apnea/hypopnea syndrome (OSAHS) is high in patients with acute coronary syndromes (ACS), there is little knowledge about the persistence of OSAHS in ACS patients after the acute event. We aimed to assess the prevalence and time course of OSAHS in patients with ACS during and after the acute cardiac event.
  
  
  METHODS
  Fifty-two patients with first-ever ACS, underwent attended overnight polysomnography (PSG) in our sleep center on the third day after the acute event. In patients with an apnea hypopnea index (AHI) > 10/h, we performed a follow up PSG 1 and 6 months later.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Twenty-eight patients (54%) had an AHI > 10/h. There was a significant decrease in AHI 1 month after the acute event (13.9 vs. 19.7, p = 0.001), confirming the diagnosis of OSAHS in 22 of 28 patients (79%). At 6-month follow-up, the AHI had decreased further (7.5 vs. 19.7, p < 0.05), and at that time only 6 of the 28 patients (21%) were diagnosed as having OSAHS. Twelve of the 16 current smokers stopped smoking after the acute event.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  We have demonstrated a high prevalence of OSAHS in ACS patients, which did not persist 6 months later, indicating that, to some degree, OSAHS may be transient and related with the acute phase of the underlying disease or the reduction in the deleterious smoking habit.
authors.affiliation: Sleep Disorders Unit, Department of Thoracic Medicine, Medical School, University of Crete, Greece. schiza@med.uoc.gr
authors.forename: Sophia E
authors.initials: SE
authors.lastname: Schiza
authors.forename: Emmanuel
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Simantirakis
authors.forename: Izolde
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Bouloukaki
authors.forename: Charalampos
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Mermigkis
authors.forename: Eleftherios M
authors.initials: EM
authors.lastname: Kallergis
authors.forename: Stauros
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Chrysostomakis
authors.forename: Dimitrios
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Arfanakis
authors.forename: Nikolaos
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Tzanakis
authors.forename: Panos
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Vardas
authors.forename: Nikolaos M
authors.initials: NM
authors.lastname: Siafakas
mesh_terms: D054058:Acute Coronary Syndrome / Q000150:complications* / Q000503:physiopathology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D017286:Polysomnography; D015995:Prevalence; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D012890:Sleep / Q000502:physiology; D012891:Sleep Apnea Syndromes / Q000150:complications* / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000503:physiopathology