Obstructive sleep apnea might trigger acute pulmonary embolism: results from a cohort study.
BACKGROUND
Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) might be an independent risk factor for acute pulmonary embolism (APE).


OBJECTIVE
A prospective cohort study was conducted to investigate if APE is sleep-related in untreated OSA syndrome or not.


METHODS
206 APE patients were evaluated by portable monitoring and polysomnography. APE symptoms which caused an arousal from sleep or occurred within the first hour after wake-up were considered to be sleep-related.


RESULTS
APE manifestation is significantly more often sleep-related in patients with moderate or severe OSA compared to subjects with an apnea-hypopnea index ≤15/h (p < 0.001). The relative risk of sleep-related APE increases with the severity of OSA.


CONCLUSIONS
OSA might trigger APE, possibly reflecting a pathophysiological relationship between these two conditions.
Department of Cardiology, Respiratory Medicine and Intensive Care, Klinikum Augsburg, Ludwig-Maximilians University Munich, Stenglinstrasse 2, 86156, Augsburg, Germany. thomas.berghaus@klinikum-augsburg.de.
T M
TM
Berghaus
Department of Cardiology, Respiratory Medicine and Intensive Care, Klinikum Augsburg, Ludwig-Maximilians University Munich, Stenglinstrasse 2, 86156, Augsburg, Germany.
A
A
Witkowska
Department of Cardiology, Respiratory Medicine and Intensive Care, Klinikum Augsburg, Ludwig-Maximilians University Munich, Stenglinstrasse 2, 86156, Augsburg, Germany.
T
T
Wagner
Department of Cardiology, Respiratory Medicine and Intensive Care, Klinikum Augsburg, Ludwig-Maximilians University Munich, Stenglinstrasse 2, 86156, Augsburg, Germany.
C
C
Faul
Department of Cardiology, Respiratory Medicine and Intensive Care, Klinikum Augsburg, Ludwig-Maximilians University Munich, Stenglinstrasse 2, 86156, Augsburg, Germany.
M
M
Schwaiblmair
Department of Cardiology, Respiratory Medicine and Intensive Care, Klinikum Augsburg, Ludwig-Maximilians University Munich, Stenglinstrasse 2, 86156, Augsburg, Germany.
W
W
von Scheidt
D000208:Acute Disease; D000368:Aged; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D017286:Polysomnography; D011446:Prospective Studies; D011655:Pulmonary Embolism / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology*; D012307:Risk Factors; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D020181:Sleep Apnea, Obstructive / Q000150:complications* / Q000175:diagnosis
Day–night pattern; Pulmonary embolism; Sleep-disordered breathing; Symptom onset