title: Echocardiographic Findings in Healthy Elderly People with Unrecognized Sleep Disordered Breathing.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Sleep disordered breathing (SDB) is associated with cardiovascular disease such as hypertension and left ventricular hypertrophy in middle-aged patients; however, this association is not well described in the elderly. The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of unrecognized SDB on cardiac function and remodeling in a population-based sample of healthy elderly without cardiac disease.
  
  
  METHODS
  A total of 405 healthy elderly (age ≥ 65 years) were examined by echocardiography and respiratory polygraphy. According to the apnea-hypopnea index (AHI), subjects were stratified in four categories: snorers (AHI < 5), mild (AHI: 5-15), moderate (AHI: 15-30), and severe (AHI > 30) cases.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Comparative analysis between snorers and SDB cases revealed that left atrial (LA) diameter and surface increased according to SDB severity (p < 0.05) without differences in LA mass index. In subjects with an AHI > 30, an increase was found for LV end-diastolic and end-systolic dimension (p < 0.001), as well as for LV mass (p < 0.03) and LV index (p < 0.05). The current study showed a weak but significant correlation between altered LA and LV measurements versus AHI and hypoxemia indices (p < 0.001). In the regression analysis, AHI and hypoxemia had a minimal effect, body mass index and male gender being the most significant predictors.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In a population of healthy elderly with SDB, slight changes in left atrial and ventricular measurements occur in severe cases (AHI > 30). Irrespective of the lack of a strong association between SDB and cardiac dysfunction, the presence of slight cardiac pathology in severe SDB cases might be considered.
  
  
  BACKGROUND
  NCT 00759304 and NCT 00766584.
authors.affiliation: Service de Physiologie Clinique et de l'Exercice (Pole Hospitalier NOL), CHU Nord, Faculté de Médecine Jacques Lisfranc, Université Jean Monnet, Saint-Etienne, France.
authors.forename: Emilia
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Sforza
authors.affiliation: Service de Cardiologie CHU Nord, Faculté de Médecine Jacques Lisfranc, Université Jean Monnet, Saint-Etienne, France.
authors.forename: Mouhamed
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sabri
authors.affiliation: Service de Cardiologie CHU Nord, Faculté de Médecine Jacques Lisfranc, Université Jean Monnet, Saint-Etienne, France.
authors.forename: Antoine
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: DaCosta
authors.affiliation: Service de Cardiologie CHU Nord, Faculté de Médecine Jacques Lisfranc, Université Jean Monnet, Saint-Etienne, France.
authors.forename: Karl
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Isaaz
authors.affiliation: Service de Physiologie Clinique et de l'Exercice (Pole Hospitalier NOL), CHU Nord, Faculté de Médecine Jacques Lisfranc, Université Jean Monnet, Saint-Etienne, France.
authors.forename: Jean Claude
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Barthélémy
authors.affiliation: Service de Physiologie Clinique et de l'Exercice (Pole Hospitalier NOL), CHU Nord, Faculté de Médecine Jacques Lisfranc, Université Jean Monnet, Saint-Etienne, France.
authors.forename: Frédéric
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Roche
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D005260:Female; D006325:Heart Atria / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D006352:Heart Ventricles / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D006801:Humans; D017379:Hypertrophy, Left Ventricular / Q000150:complications* / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D008297:Male; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D012891:Sleep Apnea Syndromes / Q000150:complications*; D012913:Snoring / Q000150:complications*; D014463:Ultrasonography
keywords: echocardiography; elderly; hypoxemia; left cardiac function; obesity; sleep disordered breathing