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Cardiac Arrythmias Are Often Accompanied By Sleep-Disordered Breathing

Date:
March 20, 2009
Source:
Deutsches Aerzteblatt International
Summary:
Breathing during sleep is often impaired in patients with atrial fibrillation. Scientists have investigated how often sleep-disordered breathing occurs in this form of cardiac arrythmia and what the different types are.
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Breathing during sleep is often impaired in patients with atrial fibrillation. In the current edition of Deutsches Ärzteblatt International,* Thomas Bitter and his coauthors from the Ruhr University in Bochum investigate how often sleep-disordered breathing occurs in this form of cardiac arrythmia and what the different types are.

The authors used cardiorespiratory polygraphy to investigate whether 150 patients (110 men and 40 women) with atrial fibrillation suffered from sleep-disordered breathing. To avoid statistical bias, they only included patients with normal systolic left ventricular function. The mean age of the patients was around 65 years.

Breathing during sleep was impaired in 74% of the patients. 43% of the group suffered from obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). This means that the upper respiratory tract is constricted during the night, leading to oxygen deficiency. The authors found that 31% of patients suffered from central sleep apnea (CSA). This type of disorder is characterized by periodic decreases and increases in the respiratory depth and rate. Breathing becomes flatter and flatter, until it is interrupted for an interval.

Awareness of OSA already plays an important role in the primary and secondary prevention of atrial fibrillation. According to the authors, the results indicate that central sleep apnea is also relevant.

* Dtsch Arztebl Int 2009; 106(10): 164–70


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Cite This Page:

Deutsches Aerzteblatt International. "Cardiac Arrythmias Are Often Accompanied By Sleep-Disordered Breathing." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 20 March 2009. <www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/03/090320092251.htm>.
Deutsches Aerzteblatt International. (2009, March 20). Cardiac Arrythmias Are Often Accompanied By Sleep-Disordered Breathing. ScienceDaily. Retrieved March 19, 2024 from www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/03/090320092251.htm
Deutsches Aerzteblatt International. "Cardiac Arrythmias Are Often Accompanied By Sleep-Disordered Breathing." ScienceDaily. www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/03/090320092251.htm (accessed March 19, 2024).

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