Sleep apnea often overlooked in people with heart disease
In short: A review by the American Heart Association found that obstructive sleep apnea, a condition where breathing repeatedly stops during sleep, affects between 40% and 80% of patients with conditions like high blood pressure, heart failure, atrial fibrillation or stroke. Despite this, doctors frequently fail to spot or adequately treat the condition in cardiac patients.
OSA involves repeated pauses or reductions in breathing during sleep that can disrupt oxygen levels and nervous system activity, and it's especially common among people with heart problems.
This statement reviewed existing clinical evidence to produce recommendations, such as screening patients with hard-to-control high blood pressure or recurrent atrial fibrillation, though it acknowledges that for some groups, including stroke survivors, there's not yet a clear consensus on when to screen or treat.
Why it matters: Sleep apnea is surprisingly common among heart disease patients yet often missed, pointing to a gap in cardiovascular care.
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Sources
- Summary by Intellect · source: Research: Yeghiazarians et al. (2021). Obstructive Sleep Apnea and Cardiovascular Disease: A Scientific Statement From the American Heart Association. Circulation.
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