Asian Pacific Society of Cardiology Consensus Statements on the Diagnosis and Management of Obstructive Sleep Apnoea in Patients with Cardiovascular Disease.

Obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) is strongly associated with cardiovascular disease (CVD). However, evidence supporting this association in the Asian population is scarce. Given the differences in the epidemiology of CVD and cardiovascular risk factors, as well as differences in the availability of healthcare resources between Asian and Western countries, an Asian Pacific Society of Cardiology (APSC) working group developed consensus recommendations on the management of OSA in patients with CVD in the Asia-Pacific region. The APSC expert panel reviewed and appraised the available evidence using the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development, and Evaluation system. Consensus recommendations were developed and put to an online vote. Consensus was reached when 80% of votes for a given recommendation were in support of 'agree' or 'neutral.' The resulting statements provide guidance on the assessment and treatment of OSA in patients with CVD in the Asia-Pacific region. The APSC hopes for these recommendations to pave the way for screening, early diagnosis and treatment of OSA in the Asia-Pacific region.

Sleep apnea and recurrent heart failure hospitalizations after coronary artery bypass grafting.

STUDY OBJECTIVES: Sleep apnea is prevalent in patients undergoing coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG). We investigated the relationship between sleep apnea and recurrent heart failure hospitalizations in patients undergoing nonurgent CABG. METHODS: Between November 2013 and December 2018, 1,007 patients completed a sleep study prior to CABG and were followed up until April 2020. Recurrent heart failure hospitalizations were analyzed by Poisson, negative binomial, Andersen-Gill, and joint frailty models, with partial and full adjustment for covariates. RESULTS: At an average follow-up of 3.3 years, the number of patients with 0, 1, or ≥ 2 heart failure hospitalizations were 908 (90.2%), 62 (6.2%), and 37 (3.7%), respectively. The total number of heart failure hospitalizations was 179, comprising 62 (35%) first and 117 (65%) repeat events. The numbers of heart failure hospitalizations for the sleep apnea (n = 513, 50.9%) and nonsleep apnea groups were 127 and 52, respectively. Negative binomial regression demonstrated that sleep apnea was associated with recurrent heart failure hospitalizations (fully adjusted rate ratio, 1.71; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.12-2.62; P = .013). Similar results were found in Poisson (1.63; 95% CI, 1.15-2.31; P = .006), Andersen-Gill (1.66; 95% CI, 1.01-2.75; P = .047), and joint frailty models (1.72; 95% CI, 1.00-3.01; P = .056). CONCLUSIONS: In patients after CABG, repeat events accounted for two-thirds of heart failure hospitalizations. Sleep apnea was independently associated with recurrent heart failure hospitalizations. CITATION: Teo YH, Tam WT, Koo C-Y, et al. Sleep apnea and recurrent heart failure hospitalizations after coronary artery bypass grafting. J Clin Sleep Med. 2021;17(12):2399-2407.

Obstructive sleep apnea during acute coronary syndrome is related to myocardial necrosis and wall stress.

BACKGROUND: The relative contribution of pathophysiological mechanisms in acute coronary syndrome (ACS) towards obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is not well-studied. We examined the correlation between severity of OSA and inflammation, myocardial necrosis, wall stress, and fibrosis. METHODS: A total of 89 patients admitted with ACS underwent a sleep study during index admission. Plasma levels of high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP), troponin I, N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP), and suppression of tumorigenicity 2 (ST2) were prospectively analyzed. Two patients diagnosed with central sleep apnea were excluded. RESULTS: The recruited patients were divided into no (AHI <5 events/hour, 9.2%), mild (5-<15, 27.6%), moderate (15-<30, 21.8%), and severe (≥30, 41.4%) OSA. Compared to the no, mild and moderate OSA groups, the severe OSA group had a higher body mass index (p = 0.005). They were also more likely to present with ST-segment elevation ACS (versus non-ST-segment elevation ACS) (p = 0.041), have undergone previous coronary artery bypass grafting (p = 0.013), demonstrate complete coronary occlusion during baseline coronary angiography (p = 0.049), and have a larger left atrial diameter measured on echocardiography (p = 0.029). Likewise, the severe OSA group had higher plasma levels of hs-CRP (p = 0.004), troponin I (p = 0.017), and NT-proBNP (p = 0.004), but not ST2 (p = 0.10). After adjustment for the effects of confounding variables, OSA was independently associated with troponin I (ie, myocardial necrosis; p = 0.001) and NT-proBNP (ie, myocardial wall stress; p = 0.008). CONCLUSION: Severe OSA during the acute phase of ACS was associated with extensive myocardial necrosis and high myocardial wall stress, but not with inflammation and myocardial fibrosis.

Obstructive sleep apnea during rapid eye movement sleep in patients after percutaneous coronary intervention: a multicenter study.

PURPOSE: Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) during the rapid eye movement (REM) stage of the sleep cycle is associated with intense hypoxemia and cardiovascular instability. We characterized OSA during REM sleep in patients after percutaneous coronary intervention. METHODS: In this multicenter study, 204 patients who had undergone percutaneous coronary intervention in the prior 6 to 36 months were recruited for in-laboratory polysomnography. The primary measure was respiratory events during REM sleep. The patients were divided into 2 groups: (1) OSA during REM sleep (≥ 15 events/h) and (2) absence of OSA during REM sleep (< 15 events/h). RESULTS: Based on the overall apnea-hypopnea index ≥ 15, 148 patients (74.0%) had OSA. After excluding patients with failed polysomnography or REM sleep < 30 min, 163 patients formed the cohort for this analysis. OSA during REM sleep was diagnosed in 132 patients (81%). Compared with the patients without OSA during REM sleep, those with OSA during REM sleep had a higher body mass index (p = 0.003) and systolic blood pressure (p = 0.041), and a higher prevalence of diabetes mellitus (p = 0.029). Logistic regression analysis, including age, sex, diabetes mellitus, indication for percutaneous coronary intervention, and indication for multi-vessel percutaneous coronary intervention, showed that diabetes mellitus was the only independent predictor of OSA during REM sleep (odds ratio 2.83; 95% CI, 1.17 to 6.83; p = 0.021). CONCLUSION: In patients treated with percutaneous coronary intervention, there was a high prevalence of OSA during REM sleep. Diabetes mellitus was an independent predictor of OSA during REM sleep.

Sleep apnea and diabetes mellitus are independently associated with cardiovascular events and hospitalization for heart failure after coronary artery bypass grafting.

The relative and combined effects of sleep apnea with diabetes mellitus (DM) on cardiovascular outcomes in patients undergoing coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) remain unknown. In this secondary analysis of data from the SABOT study, 1007 patients were reclassified into four groups based on their sleep apnea and DM statuses, yielding 295, 218, 278, and 216 patients in the sleep apnea (+) DM (+), sleep apnea (+) DM (-), sleep apnea (-) DM (+), and sleep apnea (-) DM (-) groups, respectively. After a mean follow-up period of 2.1 years, the crude incidence of major adverse cardiac and cerebrovascular event was 18% in the sleep apnea (+) DM (+), 11% in the sleep apnea (+) DM (-), 13% in the sleep apnea (-) DM (+), and 5% in the sleep apnea (-) DM (-) groups. Using sleep apnea (-) DM (-) as the reference group, a Cox regression analysis indicated that sleep apnea (+) and DM (+) independently predicted MACCEs (adjusted hazard ratio, 3.2; 95% confidence interval, 1.7-6.2; p = 0.005) and hospitalization for heart failure (adjusted hazard ratio, 12.6; 95% confidence interval, 3.0-52.3; p < 0.001). Sleep apnea and DM have independent effects on the prognosis of patients undergoing CABG.Clinical trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov identification no. NCT02701504.

Sleep apnoea and cardiovascular outcomes after coronary artery bypass grafting.

OBJECTIVE: Patients with advanced coronary artery disease are referred for coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) and it remains unknown if sleep apnoea is a risk marker. We evaluated the association between sleep apnoea and major adverse cardiac and cerebrovascular events (MACCE) in patients undergoing non-emergent CABG. METHODS: This was a prospective cohort study conducted between November 2013 and December 2018. Patients from four public hospitals referred to a tertiary cardiac centre for non-emergent CABG were recruited for an overnight sleep study using a wrist-worn Watch-PAT 200 device prior to CABG. RESULTS: Among the 1007 patients who completed the study, sleep apnoea (defined as apnoea-hypopnoea index ≥15 events per hour) was diagnosed in 513 patients (50.9%). Over a mean follow-up period of 2.1 years, 124 patients experienced the four-component MACCE (2-year cumulative incidence estimate, 11.3%). There was a total of 33 cardiac deaths (2.5%), 42 non-fatal myocardial infarctions (3.7%), 50 non-fatal strokes (4.9%) and 36 unplanned revascularisations (3.2%). The crude incidence of MACCE was higher in the sleep apnoea group than the non-sleep apnoea group (2-year estimate, 14.7% vs 7.8%; p=0.002). Sleep apnoea predicted the incidence of MACCE in unadjusted Cox regression analysis (HR 1.69; 95% CI 1.18 to 2.43), and remained statistically significant (adjusted HR 1.57; 95% CI 1.09 to 2.25), after adjustment for age, sex, body mass index, left ventricular ejection fraction, diabetes mellitus, hypertension, chronic kidney disease and excessive daytime sleepiness. CONCLUSION: Sleep apnoea is independently associated with increased MACCE in patients undergoing CABG. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: NCT02701504.

Diabetes mellitus is associated with high sleep-time systolic blood pressure and non-dipping pattern.

INTRODUCTION: Compared to clinic blood pressure (BP), sleep-time BP and non-dipping BP pattern are better predictors of target organ damage and cardiovascular sequalae. AIM: In a retrospective study, we determined whether diabetes mellitus (DM) status is associated with high sleep-time BP and non-dipping pattern. METHODS: We analyzed 1092 patients who underwent ambulatory BP monitoring between 2015 and 2017 in a tertiary cardiology institution. During a 24-hour period, BP was automatically measured every 15 minutes between 7:00 AM and 11:59 PM and every 30 minutes thereafter. RESULTS: Compared with the non-DM group (n = 910), the DM group (n = 182) had a higher 24-hour systolic BP (137 ± 17 vs. non-DM, 132 ± 14 mmHg, p < 0.001) and sleep-time systolic BP (132 ± 20 vs. 123 ± 16 mmHg, p < 0.001), and was more likely to exhibit non-dipping (63% vs 42%, p˂0.001). The DM group was also less likely to meet the guideline-recommended target of 120/70 mmHg for the sleep-time BP measured via ambulatory monitoring (22% vs. 34%, p = 0.002). After adjusting for the effects of age, sex, body mass index, smoking, urea, eGFR, previous myocardial infarction, previous percutaneous coronary intervention, previous coronary artery bypass surgery, and previous stroke, DM remained a significant independent predictor of a higher 24-hour systolic BP (coefficient: 2.8, 95% confidence interval: 0.1-5.5, p = 0.042) and higher sleep-time systolic BP (coefficient: 4.2, 95% confidence interval: 1.1-7.3, p = 0.008). There was a trend toward more sleep-time non-dipping BP pattern (odds ratio: 1.4, 95% confidence interval: 1.0-2.0, p = 0.087) in the DM group. CONCLUSION: DM is independently associated with suboptimal 24-hour BP control. This association is mainly attributed to a high sleep-time systolic BP.

Screening and treatment of obstructive sleep apnea in acute coronary syndrome. A randomized clinical trial.

BACKGROUND: We evaluated the effects of sleep-study guided multidisciplinary therapy (SGMT) of obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) in patients presenting with acute coronary syndrome. METHODS: Eligible patients were randomized into (1) SGMT, comprised a sleep study during the index admission and continuous positive airway pressure and behavioral therapy for those with at least mild OSA or (2) standard therapy. The primary end point was the change in the plasma N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) level from baseline to the 7-month follow-up. RESULTS: A total of 159 patients completed the trial. Of the 70 patients randomized to SGMT, 21 (30%), 15 (22%) and 27 (39%) were diagnosed with mild, moderate and severe OSA, respectively. Continuous positive airway pressure and a positional pillow were prescribed to 57 (91%) and 6 (9%) patients with OSA. Although plasma NT-proBNP levels were lower after 7 months compared to the baseline, the levels did not differ significantly between the SGMT and standard therapy groups at baseline (579 ±â€¯1117 vs. 611 ±â€¯899 pg/dL, p = .851) or at 7 months (90 ±â€¯167 vs. 93 ±â€¯174 pg/dL, p = .996). The changes in NT-proBNP levels from baseline to 7 months were similar with SGMT and standard therapy (-489 vs. -518 pg/dL, p = .726). Similar findings were observed for the plasma ST2 and hs-CRP levels. CONCLUSIONS: OSA screening and multifaceted treatment during the sub-acute phase of acute coronary syndrome did not further reduce the levels of cardiovascular biomarkers when compared with standard therapy. CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRATION: clinicaltrial.gov NCT02599298.

Prevalence, Characteristics, and Association of Obstructive Sleep Apnea with Blood Pressure Control in Patients with Resistant Hypertension.

Rationale: Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is associated with poor blood pressure (BP) control and resistant hypertension (RH). Nevertheless, studies assessing its prevalence, characteristics, and association with BP control in patients with RH are limited.Objectives: The aim of this multicenter study was to assess the prevalence of OSA in a large cohort of subjects with RH and to evaluate the association of OSA with BP control.Methods: We recruited consecutive subjects with RH from three countries. A formal sleep test and blood pressure measurements, including 24-hour ambulatory blood pressure monitoring, were performed in all participants.Results: In total, 284 subjects with RH were included in the final analysis. Of these, 83.5% (95% confidence interval [CI], 78.7-87.3%) had OSA (apnea-hypopnea index ≥ 5 events/h); 31.7% (95% CI, 26.5-37.3%) had mild OSA, 25.7% (95% CI, 21-31.1%) had moderate OSA, and 26.1% (95% CI, 21.3-31.5%) had severe OSA. Patients with severe OSA had higher BP values than subjects with mild to moderate or no OSA. A greater effect was observed on the average nighttime BP, with an adjusted effect of 5.72 mm Hg (95% CI, 1.08-10.35 mm Hg) in severe OSA compared with participants without OSA. A dose-response association between the severity of OSA and BP values was observed. The prevalence of severe OSA was slightly higher in uncontrolled participants (adjusted odds ratio, 1.69; 95% CI, 0.97-2.99) but was not statistically significant.Conclusions: The present study confirms the high prevalence of OSA in participants with RH. Furthermore, it shows a dose-response association between OSA severity and BP measurements, especially in the nighttime.Clinical trial registered with www.clinicaltrials.gov (NCT03002558).