Resolution of central sleep apnoea following implantation of a left ventricular assist device.

Central sleep apnoea (CSA) occurs in up to 40% of patients with chronic heart failure (CHF). It is thought to be a consequence of CHF and is associated with an accelerated decline in cardiac function, and increased morbidity and mortality. The optimal treatment of CSA remains unclear. Resolution of CSA has been reported after cardiac transplantation. We report the first case of resolution of CSA 10 months following implantation of a permanent Jarvik 2000 left ventricular assist device (LVAD). The correction of CSA after implantation of the LVAD was associated with improvements in symptoms, exercise capacity, renal function, and increased arterial carbon dioxide levels at rest during wakefulness and also reduction in brain natriuretic peptide.

A high prevalence of sleep disordered breathing in men with mild symptomatic chronic heart failure due to left ventricular systolic dysfunction.

BACKGROUND: Sleep disordered breathing (SDB) is common in severe chronic heart failure (CHF) and is associated with increased morbidity and mortality. The prevalence of SDB in mild symptomatic CHF is unknown. AIM: The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence and characteristics of SDB in male patients with NYHA class II symptoms of CHF. METHODS AND RESULTS: 55 male patients with mild symptomatic CHF underwent assessment of quality of life, echocardiography, cardiopulmonary exercise, chemoreflex testing and polysomnography. 53% of the patients had SDB. 38% had central sleep apnoea (CSA) and 15% had obstructive sleep apnoea. SDB patients had steeper VE/VCO(2) slope [median (inter-quartile range) 31.1 (28-37) vs. 28.1 (27-30) respectively; p=0.04], enhanced chemoreflexes to carbon dioxide during wakefulness [mean+/-sd: 2.4+/-1.6 vs. 1.5+/-0.7 %VE Max/mmHg CO(2) respectively; p=0.03], and significantly higher levels of brain natriuretic peptide and endothelin-1 compared to patients without SDB. No differences in left ventricular ejection fraction, percent predicted peak oxygen uptake, or symptoms of SDB were observed. CONCLUSIONS: A high prevalence of SDB was found in men with mild symptomatic CHF. Patients with SDB could not be differentiated by symptoms or by routine cardiac assessment making clinical diagnosis of SDB in CHF difficult.

Symptom burden of sleep-disordered breathing in mild-to-moderate congestive heart failure patients.

The symptom burden resulting from sleep-disordered breathing (SDB) in patients with mild-to-moderate congestive heart failure (CHF) is unclear. The current authors monitored 24-h activity levels and compared subjective and objective measures of daytime sleepiness in 39 CHF patients, New York Heart Association class 2-3, on optimal medication. A total of 22 patients were classified as SDB (apnoea/hypopnoea index (AHI) median (range) 22.3 (16.6-100) events.h-1), and 17 as no SDB (NoSDB; AHI 3.7 (0-12.3) events.h-1). SDB was defined as AHI>or=15 events.h-1. Patients were assessed by 24-h activity monitoring (actigraphy) for a period of up to 14 days, a single objective sleepiness test (Oxford Sleep Resistance test) and Epworth Sleepiness Scale. The duration of daytime activity was significantly shorter in the SDB group compared with the NoSDB group. The SDB group also had increased time in bed and poorer sleep quality, as shown by the fragmentation index. Objectively the SDB group when compared with the NoSDB group were significantly sleepier, subjectively the groups did not differ. The amount of napping was similar for both groups. Despite the lack of subjective symptoms of daytime sleepiness, congestive heart failure patients with sleep-disordered breathing were objectively sleepier during the day and had reduced daytime activity with longer periods in bed and poorer sleep quality when compared with those without sleep-disordered breathing.

Can heart rate variation rule out sleep-disordered breathing in heart failure?

In patients with obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA), the very low frequency power spectral density index (VLFI) derived from analysis of heart rate correlates with the severity of obstructive apnoeas. VLFI is also associated with Cheyne-Stokes respiration/central sleep apnoea (CSR/CSA) in congestive heart failure (CHF). The present authors have tested the hypothesis that per cent VLFI, derived from a standard Holter ECG recording, can be used to detect the presence of OSA and CSR/CSA in patients with mild-to-moderate CHF. In total, 60 CHF patients underwent polysomnography with monitoring of heart rate. Data from 33 patients were analysed for per cent VLFI. Of the 60 patients, 27 were excluded due to atrial fibrillation, extensive pacing or frequent ventricular extra systoles. Receiver operator characteristic curves were constructed to establish the per cent VLFI that would optimally identify the presence or absence of sleep-disordered breathing. Using an apnoea-hypopnoea index>20 events.h-1 and setting the per cent VLFI at 2.23% yielded a sensitivity of 85%, specificity of 65%, positive predictive value of 61% and a negative predictive value of 87%. The latter increased to 100% when using an apnoea-hypopnoea cut-off of 30 events.h-1. In conclusion, these results suggest that spectral analysis of heart rate may be useful as a "rule-out test" for sleep-disordered breathing in patients with mild-to-moderate congestive heart failure.