• Yoshihisa Naruse, Hiroshi Tada, Makoto Satoh, Mariko Yanagihara, Hidekazu Tsuneoka, Yumi Hirata, Yoko Ito, Kenji Kuroki, Takeshi Machino, Hiro Yamasaki, Miyako Igarashi, Yukio Sekiguchi, Akira Sato, and Kazutaka Aonuma.
• Cardiovascular Division Faculty of Medicine, University of Tsukuba, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, Japan .
• Heart Rhythm. 2013 Mar 1;10(3):331-7.

BackgroundRecent studies have suggested an emerging link between obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) and atrial fibrillation (AF). Patients with OSA are less likely to remain in sinus rhythm after radiofrequency catheter ablation of AF.ObjectiveTo evaluate the efficacy of appropriate treatment with continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) on recurrences of AF after ablation.MethodsThis study prospectively included 153 patients (128 men; 60 ± 9 years) who underwent extensive encircling pulmonary vein isolation for drug refractory AF. The standard overnight polysomnographic evaluation was performed 1 week after ablation, and the total duration and the number of central or obstructive sleep apnea or hypopnea episodes were examined.ResultsOf 153 patients, 116 patients were identified as having OSA. Data regarding the use of CPAP and recurrences of AF were obtained in 82 patients. The remaining 34 patients with OSA were defined as the no-CPAP group. Polysomnography revealed no sleep-disordered breathing in 37 patients. During a mean follow-up period of 18.8 ± 10.3 months, 51 (33%) patients experienced AF recurrences after ablation. A Cox regression analysis revealed that the left atrial volume (hazard ratio [HR] 1.11; 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.01-1.23; P<.05), concomitant OSA (HR 2.61; 95% CI 1.12-6.09; P<.05), and usage of CPAP therapy (HR 0.41; 95% CI 0.22-0.76; P<.01) were associated with AF recurrences during the follow-up period.ConclusionsPatients with untreated OSA have a higher recurrence of AF after ablation. Appropriate treatment with CPAP in patients with OSA is associated with a lower recurrence of AF.Copyright © 2013 Heart Rhythm Society. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

22 keywords...

hide…