Influence of pseudoxanthoma elasticum on the lipid profile and prognostic implications.

Background: Pseudoxanthoma elasticum (PXE) is a rare, inherited disease characterised by specific skin lesions, progressive loss of vision and early onset atherosclerosis. Atherosclerosis in PXE leads to an increased rate of vascular occlusion and severe intermittent claudication. Although genetically determined, the individual course of PXE is highly variable. Up to now, there is no sufficient parameter to identify individuals at risk of rapid disease progression. This present study focused the lipid profile of patients with PXE and its possible influence on the clinical severity of peripheral artery disease (PAD). Patients and methods: 112 patients with PXE were retrospectively screened. Patients without a complete lipid profile consisting of total cholesterol (TC), triglycerides (TGC), high-density lipoprotein (HDL), low-density lipoprotein (LDL) and Lipoprotein(a) (Lp[a]) where excluded as well as patients with already initiated lipid-lowering therapy. 52 patients met the inclusion criteria. An age-adjusted ordinal regression model was applied to determine the association of each lipid fraction with the severity of PAD assessed as Fontaine classification. Results: The lipid profile of patients with PXE was unremarkable (TGC: 135.8±105.8 mg/dl; TC: 172.5±44.4 mg/dl; HDL: 63.0±18.2 mg/dl; Lp[a]: 64.7±93.5 nmol/l). Ordinal regression showed a significant association of Lp(a) with the severity of PAD with an odds ratio of 1.01 (1.00-1.02; p = 0.004), whereas the other fractions of the lipid profile had no significant influence. Conclusions: This study provides the largest evaluation of blood lipids up to now and the first characterization of Lp(a) levels in patients with PXE. We were able to provide first evidence of a correlation between elevated levels of Lp(a) and the severity of PAD. The present results suggest that determination of Lp(a) in early stages of PXE could help to identify patients at risk of rapid disease progression and with the need of intensified walking exercise training.

Preclinical atherosclerotic burden in carotid and lower extremity arteries in adults with congenital heart disease.

Background: Over 90% of patients with congenital heart defects now reach adulthood, due to significant medical advances in recent decades. With advancing age, the risk of acquired cardiovascular diseases increases in addition to the already existing risk due to the congenital defect. The aim of this study was to evaluate the prevalence of atherosclerotic lesions in carotid and lower extremity arteries in adults with congenital heart disease (ACHD). Patients and methods: A total number of 108 ACHD patients (40.6±15.0 years, 50.0% male) and 22 healthy controls (39.3±16.6 years, 40.9% male) were included in this prospective study and underwent a comprehensive angiological examination that included vascular strain analysis on the common carotid artery. Results were stratified by the underlying ACHD lesion groups: shunt lesions (n=26), left-sided obstructive lesions (n=29), right-sided lesions (n=26) and complex lesions (n=27). Results: Colour-coded duplex sonography revealed atherosclerotic lesions in lower extremity arteries in 19 ACHD patients (17.6%). This prevalence did not significantly differ from the one assessed in controls (13.6%, p=0.77). All cases were asymptomatic and therefore classified as Fontaine stage I. 20.4% of ACHD patients presented atherosclerotic lesions in extracranial carotid arteries; amongst controls, the corresponding proportion was 18.4% (p=1.00). No significant differences were observed in atherosclerotic burden in extracranial carotid and lower limb arteries across the four ACHD patient groups (p=0.67 and p=0.89, respectively). Vascular strain analysis revealed no differences between patients and controls. Though circumferential strain varied over ACHD groups (p<0.05), comparison of strain measurements across all specific underlying defect subgroups revealed no significant difference for any of the studied strain parameters. Conclusions: ACHD patients present an atherosclerotic burden in extracranial carotid and lower limb arteries and a vascular stiffness that is comparable to healthy controls.

High prevalence of peripheral and carotid artery disease in patients with interstitial lung diseases.

Background: Interstitial lung diseases (ILD) are a heterogenous group of diseases, which have pulmonary fibrosis, restrictive lung disease, and decreased diffusion capacity as a common final path. Premature death frequently results not from ILD itself but from comorbidities. Peripheral artery disease (PAD) is a common comorbid disease in different chronic lung diseases. The focus of the present study is to clarify the prevalence of PAD in ILD. Patients and methods: A total of 97 patients with ILD and 30 controls were included in the study. Patients with ILD were subdivided into two groups according to the progression of pulmonary fibrosis: progressive fibrosing and non-progressive fibrosing ILD (PF-ILD and nPF-ILD, respectively). All participants underwent standard angiological and pneumological diagnostic procedures including six-minute walking test, measurement of ankle-brachial-index, and colour-coded duplex sonography. Results: We observed no relevant differences in the baseline characteristics except age. Both, PF-ILD and nPF-ILD patients, presented with a highly increased incidence of atherosclerotic lesions compared to the control group (p<0.001). PAD was present in all patients with PF-ILD and in 73% of patients with nPF-ILD. These results were confirmed by age-adjusted regression analyses. Conclusions: The present results indicate that ILD is an independent risk factor for atherosclerosis. Patients with PF-ILD are more severely affected than nPF-ILD patients with age as a confounding variable. Atherogenesis in ILD may be mediated by increased cardiovascular risk, systemic inflammation and chronic hypoxemia.

Long-term incidence of upper extremity venous obstruction in implantable cardioverter defibrillator patients.

BACKGROUND: Very little is known about the long-term prevalence of severe venous obstruction and occlusion in patients with transvenous implantable cardioverter-defibrillator leads. The objective of the current investigation was to elucidate the incidence and prevalence and to identify predisposing conditions in an ICD cohort over a long follow-up period. METHODS: Based on a prospective database, we analyzed consecutive patients who received an ICD implantation in our hospital between 06/1988 and 2009 as well as all corresponding follow-up data until 02/2018. Cavographies were used for analysis, and all patients with at least one device replacement and one follow-up cavography were included. RESULTS: Over a mean follow-up period of 94 ± 50 months, severe venous obstruction was found in 147 (33%) of 448 patients. Kaplan-Meier analysis shows a severe obstruction or occlusion in 50% of patients after a period of 14.3 years. The total number of leads (p < .001, HR 2.01, CI 2.000-2.022), an advanced age (p = .004, HR 1.023 per year, CI 1.022-1.024) and the presence of dilated cardiomyopathy (p = .035, HR 1.49, CI 1.47-1.51) were predictive of venous obstruction whereas the presence of anticoagulation was not. CONCLUSION: Severe obstruction of the access veins after ICD implantation occurs frequently and its prevalence shows a nearly linear increase over long-time follow-up. Multiple leads, an advanced age and DCM as underlying disease are associated with an increased risk of venous obstruction while the role of anticoagulation to prevent venous obstruction in ICD patients is unclear.

Prognostic value of myeloperoxidase in patients with peripheral artery disease.

OBJECTIVES: The involvement of myeloperoxidase in the production of dysfunctional high-density lipoproteins and oxidised biomolecules leads to oxidative stress in the blood vessel endothelium. This prospective cohort study aimed to examine the prognostic value of myeloperoxidase in patients with peripheral artery disease in relation to major adverse cardiac events (MACEs), target lesion revascularisation, and major adverse limb events (MALEs) and its association with multi-bed vascular disease, which is defined as any combination of the following: peripheral artery disease and coronary artery disease. METHODS: Myeloperoxidase levels were measured in patients with peripheral artery disease and coronary artery disease during angiography. A total of 94 patients were analysed and followed up regarding their MACEs, target lesion revascularisation, and MALEs from August 2016 until February 2019. RESULTS: Among patients with peripheral artery disease, the rates of MACE and mortality were higher in patients with high myeloperoxidase levels than in those with low myeloperoxidase levels; the myeloperoxidase levels were 3.68 times higher in these patients (p < 0.0001). Patients with peripheral artery disease and coronary artery disease (multi-bed vascular disease) had higher myeloperoxidase levels than those with only peripheral artery disease and only coronary artery disease (one-bed vascular disease). Peripheral artery disease patients with higher myeloperoxidase levels had significantly higher rates of limb ischaemia, requiring further revascularisation than those with low myeloperoxidase levels. CONCLUSIONS: High myeloperoxidase levels suggest poor outcomes and are associated with MACE and limb ischaemia. Our findings indicated that myeloperoxidase levels could become a prognostic marker and may be used in conjunction with other methods for risk stratification in patients with peripheral artery disease and multi-bed vascular disease.

PSMA-positive nodal recurrence in prostate cancer : Salvage radiotherapy is superior to salvage lymph node dissection in retrospective analysis.

PURPOSE: This analysis compares salvage lymph node dissection (SLND) to salvage lymph node radiotherapy (SLNRT) of 68Ga-PSMA PET-positive nodal recurrences after radical prostatectomy (RPE). METHODS: A total of 67 SLNRT and 33 SLND consecutive patients with pelvic and/or para-aortic nodal recurrences after RPE were retrospectively analyzed. Biochemical recurrence-free survival rates (bRFS; PSA <0.2 ng/mL) were calculated according to Kaplan-Meier and survival curves were compared using the log rank test. For multivariable analysis, binary logistic regression analysis was performed (p < 0.05). RESULTS: Median follow-up was 17 months (range, 6-53 months) in SLND patients and 31 months (range, 3-56 months) in SLNRT patients (p = 0.027). SLNRT patients had significantly more tumours of pT3 and pT4 category (82% vs. 67%; p = 0.006), pathologically involved lymph nodes (45% vs. 27%; p = 0.001) and positive surgical margins (54% vs. 12%; p = 0.001) at time of RPE than SLND patients. PSA persistence after RPE was significantly more frequently observed in the SLNRT cohort (73% vs. 27%; p = 0.001). There was no significant difference in the distribution of PET-positive lymph nodes. Median PSA before SLND was higher than before SLNRT (3.07 ng/ml vs. 1.3 ng/ml; p = 0.393). The 2­year bRFS was significantly higher in the SLNRT vs. the SLND cohort (92% vs. 30%; p = 0.001) with lower rates of distant metastases (21% vs. 52%; p = 0.002) and secondary treatments (5% vs. 39%; p = 0.011) irrespective of ongoing androgen deprivation therapy at last contact. In multivariable analysis, SLNRT was significantly associated with prolonged bRFS (regression coefficient 1.436, hazard ratio 4.204, 95% CI 1.789-9.878; p = 0.001). CONCLUSION: Based on this retrospective study SLNRT might be the preferred treatment option for patients with nodal recurrence after previous RPE.

Preclinical Quantification of Prostate Cancer-Associated Vascular Alterations in the Bone Microenvironment in vivo.

INTRODUCTION: Prostate cancer has a special predilection to form bone metastases. Despite the known impact of the microvascular network on tumour growth and its dependence on the organ-specific microenvironment, the characteristics of the tumour vasculature in bone remain unknown. METHODS: The cell lines LNCaP, DU145, and PC3 were implanted into the femurs of NSG mice to examine the microvascular properties of prostate cancer in bone. Tumour growth and the functional and morphological alterations of the microvasculature were analysed for 21 days in vivo using a transparent bone chamber and fluorescence microscopy. RESULTS: Vascular density was significantly lower in tumour-bearing bone than in non-tumour-bearing bone, with a marked loss of small vessels. Accelerated blood flow velocity led to increased volumetric blood flow per vessel, but overall perfusion was not affected. All of the prostate cancer cell lines had similar vascular patterns, with more pronounced alterations in rapidly growing tumours. Despite minor differences between the prostate cancer cell lines associated with individual growth behaviours, the same overall pattern was observed and showed strong similarity to that of tumours growing in soft tissue. DISCUSSION: The increase in blood flow velocity could be a specific characteristic of prostate cancer or the bone microenvironment.

Pseudoxanthoma elasticum - also a microvascular disease.

Background: Pseudoxanthoma elasticum (PXE) is a heritable recessive disease characterized by calcification and fragmentation of soft connective tissue. Besides progressive loss of vision, alternations of the skin, and early-onset atherosclerosis different reports have suggested a microvascular manifestation of PXE and restrictive lung disease. Aim of this study was to elaborate a specific pattern of capillary alterations in PXE as well as to contemplate a possible connection to restrictive lung disease. Patients and methods: 53 consecutive patients with PXE and 26 controls were studied. All patients underwent nailfold capillaroscopy, body plethysmography, capillary blood gas analysis, and venous puncture to assess titer of autoantibodies. Results: PXE was associated with highly pathological alterations of capillaries compared to control. Atypical capillaries, such as ramifications and bushy forms, as well as dilatations varied at highest significance (p < .001). This effect was mirrored by perivascular edema, density and tortuous capillaries. Titer of anti-nuclear autoantibodies were not elevated in patients with PXE. Further analysis revealed negative correlation between vital capacity and presence of atypical capillaries. Conclusions: This study firstly describes the pattern of nailfold capillaries in PXE. Capillaries are highly pathological and consist of ramifications and bushy forms as well as dilatations. Frequently, tortuous capillaries, pericapillary edema and reduced denseness of capillary loops occur. Frequency of atypical capillaries is negatively correlated with vital capacity which can be interpreted as further lead on restrictive lung disease.

Radial artery occlusion after cardiac catheterization and impact of medical treatment.

Background: The transradial artery approach is the preferred access for cardiac catheterization according to current guidelines. However, the most common complication is radial artery occlusion (RAO). Despite the rare indication for surgical reopening, the occluded radial artery is not available for further procedures or as a potential bypass graft. Still, treatment regimens for RAO are scarce. We now determined whether the addition of antithrombotic to antiplatelet therapy improves the rate of partial or complete regain of patency in RAO following transradial cardiac catheterization in a retrospective analysis. Patients and methods: In a two-center tertiary referral hospital retrospective analysis 4135 files of patients who had undergone transradial catheterization were screened for documented RAO. 141 patients were identified and 138 patients with complete information on the medical regimen and ultrasound examinations for a maximum of 3 months were included in the analysis, whereas 3 patients were excluded due to missing or incomplete follow-up information. Results: 3.3% of all patients that had undergone transradial catheterization featured an oligosymptomatic RAO, confirmed by color-coded duplex sonography. 21% of patients with additional anticoagulation regained full patency vs. 9% without additional anticoagulation (p = 0.07). 40% of patients with anticoagulation featured a partial or full regain of patency vs. 16% of patients without additional anticoagulation for a maximum of 3 months treatment (p = 0.006). No major bleedings were reported during the follow-up visits. Conclusions: RAO remains a rare complication of cardiac catheterization. The addition of antithrombotic therapy for 3 months appears to safely improve the partial or even full regain of radial patency in case of postinterventional RAO.

The bone microenvironment promotes tumor growth and tissue perfusion compared with striated muscle in a preclinical model of prostate cancer in vivo.

BACKGROUND: Prostate cancer-related morbidity is associated with its preferential spread to the bone. Although the molecular interactions between the bone microenvironment and cancer cells have been researched extensively, the relevance of the microvascular properties of prostate cancer bone metastases remains largely unknown. Most preclinical studies focusing on microvascular analyses are based on heterotopic tumor implantation, whereas the impact of the microenvironment on site-specific growth behavior and angiogenesis is rarely addressed. METHODS: The microvascular changes associated with tumor growth in bone and soft tissue were characterized by implanting single cell suspensions of LnCap, Du145, and Pc3 cells into the femur (femur window) or striated muscle (dorsal skinfold chamber) of NSG mice. Tumor growth and the local microvasculature were analyzed for 21 days using intravital fluorescence microscopy. RESULTS: The results showed a higher engraftment of tumor cells in bone than in striated muscle associated with accelerated growth of LnCap cells and Pc3 cells. Permeability, blood flow, and tissue perfusion rates were greater in bone than in striated muscle. Du145 cells showed similar growth behavior in both tissues with similar vascular properties. The bone microenvironment facilitated tumor engraftment and growth. Increased microvascular density in striated muscle led to a higher tumor burden during early growth, whereas the increased perfusion promoted later prostate cancer growth in bone. CONCLUSIONS: Monitoring prostate cancer microcirculation in bone and soft tissue may be useful to evaluate the organ-specific efficacy of new treatments.

Modulation of carotid strain by statin therapy in atherosclerosis patients.

BACKGROUND: The beneficial effect of statin therapy on the progress of atherosclerotic disease has been demonstrated by numerous studies. Vascular strain imaging is an arising method to evaluate arterial stiffness. Our study examined whether an influence of statin therapy on the vessel wall could be detected by vascular strain imaging. PATIENTS AND METHODS: 88 patients with recently detected atherosclerosis underwent an angiological examination including ankle-brachial index (ABI), pulse wave index (PWI), central puls ewave velocity and duplex ultrasound. Captures for vascular strain analysis were taken in B-mode during ultrasound examination of the common carotid artery and evaluated using a workstation equipped with a speckle tracking based software. A statin therapy was recommended and after six months a follow-up examination took place. Meanwhile, the non-adherence of a group of patients (N = 18) lead to a possibility to observe statin effects on the vascular strain. RESULTS: In the statin non-adherent group the ABI decreased significantly to a still non-pathological level (1.2 ± 0.2 vs. 1.0 ± 0.2; p = 0.016) whereas it stagnated in the adherent group (1.0 ± 0.2 vs. 1.0 ± 0.2; p = 0.383). The PWI did not differ in the non-adherent group (180.5 ± 71.9 vs. 164.4 ± 75.8; p = 0.436) but under statin therapy it decreased significantly (261.8 ± 238.6 vs. 196.4 ± 137.4; p = 0.016). In comparison to the adherent group (4.2 ± 2.0 vs. 4.0 ± 1.8; p = 0.548) under statin therapy the radial strain decreased significantly in the non-adherent group (4.7 ± 2.0 vs. 3.3 ± 1.1; p = 0.014). CONCLUSIONS: Our findings reveal a beneficial influence of statin therapy on the arterial wall detected by vascular strain analysis.

Increased vascular occlusion in patients with pseudoxanthoma elasticum.

BACKGROUND: Pseudoxanthoma elasticum (PXE) is an autosomal recessive inherited multisystem disorder of the connective tissue caused by a loss-of-function mutation of the ABCC6 gene. It can affect the cardiovascular system, presumably leading to a high prevalence of atherosclerosis. PATIENTS AND METHODS: 46 PXE patients and 18 controls underwent an angiological examination consisting of measurement of ankle-brachial index (ABI), strain-gauge arterial reserve (SGAR), arterial resting perfusion, pulse wave index (PWI), central pulse wave velocity, and ultrasound examination. RESULTS: With an average age of 51.4 ± 12.4 years, 35/46 (76.1 %) of the PXE patients had atherosclerotic lesions, and 10 of them (28.6 %) had a chronic vascular occlusion of one or more peripheral vessels. 34/46 (73.9 %) had a pathologic ABI < 0.9, 15/42 (35.7 %) had a pathological SGAR < 10 mL/100 mL tissue/min, and 23/38 (60.5 %) had a pathological PWI > 180. The differences between the groups were statistically significant for ABI, arterial reserve, and PWI. CONCLUSIONS: In PXE patients atherosclerosis was found with a much higher prevalence than expected. Moreover, they were at very high risk for total vessel occlusions.
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Predictors of anticoagulation quality in 15 834 patients performing patient self-management of oral anticoagulation with vitamin K antagonists in real-life practice: a survey of the International Self-Monitoring Association of Orally Anticoagulated Patients.

Although patient self-management (PSM) of oral anticoagulation with vitamin K antagonists is recommended for patients requiring long-term anticoagulation, important aspects are still unclear. Using data from a large international survey (n = 15 834; median age 72 years; 30·1% female), we studied predictors of poor anticoagulation control (percentage of International Normalized Ratio values within therapeutic range below 75%) and developed a simple prediction model. The following variables were identified as risk factors for poor anticoagulation control and included in the final model: higher intensity of therapeutic range (odds ratio [OR] on every level 1·9; 95% confidence interval [CI] 1·8-2·0), long intervals between measurements (>14 d; 1·5; 95% CI 1·3-1·7), female sex (OR 1·3; 95% CI 1·2-1·4), and management other than PSM (OR 1·4; 95% CI 1·2-1·6). At a threshold of 0·2 (at least one variable present), the model predicted poor anticoagulation control with a sensitivity of 85·3% (95% CI: 84·0, 86·4) and a specificity of 28·5% (27·6, 29·5). The area under the receiver operated characteristic curve was 0·65. Using the proposed prediction model, physicians will be able to identify patients with a low chance of performing well, considering additional training, regular follow-up, or adjustment of therapeutic ranges.

A large-scale evaluation of computational protein function prediction.

Automated annotation of protein function is challenging. As the number of sequenced genomes rapidly grows, the overwhelming majority of protein products can only be annotated computationally. If computational predictions are to be relied upon, it is crucial that the accuracy of these methods be high. Here we report the results from the first large-scale community-based critical assessment of protein function annotation (CAFA) experiment. Fifty-four methods representing the state of the art for protein function prediction were evaluated on a target set of 866 proteins from 11 organisms. Two findings stand out: (i) today's best protein function prediction algorithms substantially outperform widely used first-generation methods, with large gains on all types of targets; and (ii) although the top methods perform well enough to guide experiments, there is considerable need for improvement of currently available tools.

N-3 vs. n-6 fatty acids differentially influence calcium signalling and adhesion of inflammatory activated monocytes: impact of lipid rafts.

BACKGROUND: Anti-inflammatory n-3 fatty acids (FA) like docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) opposed to the pro-inflammatory n-6 FA arachidonic acid (AA) might modulate lipid rafts within the cell membrane by differential incorporation. In inflammation, monocyte adhesion to endothelial cells is a crucial step mediated by intracellular calcium changes. We investigated whether lipid rafts mediate FA-induced modulation of adhesion and intracellular calcium. METHODS: In isolated human monocytes and monocytic U937 cells we measured adhesion to human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVEC) using a parallel flow chamber and a static assay, adhesion molecules by FACScan, and intracellular calcium by fluorescence. Monocyte lipid rafts were isolated by ultracentrifugation and submitted to gas chromatography for FA analysis. RESULTS: Pre-incubation with AA or DHA resulted in a predominant incorporation of the respective FA into raft compared to non-raft fraction. DHA as compared to AA significantly reduced monocyte adhesion and calcium release after stimulation with TNF-α while expression of adhesion molecules remained unchanged. Pre-treatment with a calcium chelator abolished the effect of FA on calcium and adhesion. Disruption of lipid rafts prevented FA-induced modulations. CONCLUSION: Incorporation of FA into lipid rafts seem to be crucial for modulation of adhesion under inflammatory conditions.

Sunitinib treatment reduces tumor growth and limits changes in microvascular properties after minor surgical intervention in an in vivo model of secondary breast cancer growth in bone.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Surgical interventions can alter the balance between pro- and anti-angiogenic growth factors and thereby modulate tumor growth. Since the microcirculatory properties of tumors underlie organ-specific differences, the microhemodynamic characteristics of bone metastasis have not yet been fully described. Angiogenesis inhibitors are increasingly being used to treat advanced stages of cancer. We hypothesized that the anti-angiogenic drug sunitinib abrogates alterations in microvascular properties following a minor surgical intervention in an in vivo model of secondary breast cancer growth in the bone. METHODS: Intravital microscopy was performed over 25 days using a xenograft model of breast cancer tumor growth in the bone to determine changes in microvascular properties during sunitinib treatment. Mastectomy was performed on day 5 to evaluate the effect of a minor surgical trauma on tumor growth and microvascular properties. RESULTS: Anti-angiogenic therapy resulted in reduced tumor growth, decreased vascular density, and increased vascular diameters. Blood flow velocity remained constant while microvascular permeability temporarily increased after the surgical intervention. CONCLUSIONS: Administration of sunitinib reduced tumor growth and altered microcirculatory properties in a time-dependent manner. The observed dramatic increase in microvascular permeability after the surgical intervention may have implications for local tumor growth, and metastatic dissemination. J. Surg. Oncol. 2016;113:515-521. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Underdiagnosis of Obstructive Sleep Apnoea in Peripheral Arterial Disease.

Background: Obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) has interdependently been related to the onset and progression of a large portion of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disorders. In due consideration of OSA-mediated endothelial dysfunction, its impact on peripheral artery disease is conceivable, but undefined. Objectives: The aim of this study was to identify the prevalence of OSA in a lower extremity artery disease (LEAD) study population. Methods: A total of 91 patients receiving in- and outpatient treatment for LEAD were included in this prospectively conducted trial. In addition to an angiological examination, all patients underwent nocturnal screening for sleep-disordered breathing by use of SOMNOcheck micro® (SC micro) and - depending on the results obtained - polysomnography. Results: Patients were principally late middle-aged (69.3 ± 10.8 years), male (71.4%) and slightly overweight (BMI 26.8 ± 3.9). Overnight screening determined a sleep apnoea prevalence of 78.0%, of which 90.1% exhibited a predominantly obstructive genesis. The mean apnoea-hypopnoea index (AHI; events/h) and oxygen desaturation index (events/h) averaged 11.8 ± 13.4 and 8.9 ± 14.2, respectively. The individual AHI categories of non-pathological (<5), mild (5 to <15), moderate (15 to <30) and severe sleep apnoea (≥30) accounted for 22.0, 59.3, 13.2 and 5.5%, respectively. A distributive examination of AHI within LEAD severity groups evinced a significant association (p = 0.047). In cases of at least moderate sleep apnoea (AHI ≥15) polysomnography was performed (n = 17, 18.7% of the whole collective). Correlative analysis revealed a significant correlation between values obtained by SC micro recording and polysomnography, establishing the diagnostic accuracy of the screening results. Conclusions: OSA exhibits an important prevalence of 70.3% in LEAD patients with prior undiagnosed sleep-disordered breathing, indicating major OSA unawareness in this cardiovascular cohort. However, the impact of OSA treatment on LEAD propagation remains to be determined. © 2015 S. Karger AG, Basel.