Abstract
Introduction: Sleep disordered breathing (SDB) in adults with heart failure is well described: patients have increased prevalence of both central and obstructive sleep apnoea. However, there is little data on SDB in children with congenital heart disease (CHD). Recognition of SDB is important in optimizing treatment and avoiding morbidity.
Method: We aimed to investigate the prevalence and type of SDB in children with CHD referred to the sleep unit of a tertiary cardiorespiratory hospital. A retrospective casenote review of all children with CHD who underwent a sleep study between Jan 2013 to April 2014 was performed. 46 patients (25 male) were included, aged 3[1.3-8.8]yrs median[IQR].
Results: SDB was seen in 30/46 patients with CHD. All 6 patients in heart failure had evidence of central sleep apnoea: The CAI was higher in the patients with heart failure 6[1.7-11.3]/hTST compared to patients with CHD without heart failure 0.9[0.4-2]/hTST(p=0.005). There was no difference in their OAHI. 5 had periodic breathing and 1 demonstrated the crescendo-decrescendo “Cheyne-Stokes” breathing pattern (Fig. 1) commonly seen in adults with heart failure.
Conclusion: There is a high prevalence of SDB in children with CHD, particularly in those with heart failure. Unlike previous publications (Peer et al, Front Psych 2010) “Cheyne-Stoke” breathing can be seen in children with CHD who are in heart failure, though may not be as common as in adults.
- Copyright ©ERS 2015