Chest
Clinical InvestigationsRelationship of Ventricular Ectopy to Oxyhemoglobin Desaturation in Patients with Obstructive Sleep Apnea
Section snippets
Patients
The population under study consisted of 31 male patients referred for diagnostic polysomnography because of clinically suspected obstructive sleep apnea. Routine spirometric testing was performed in each patient using a wedge spirometer (Med-Science). Thoracic gas volume at functional residual capacity (FRC) was determined with a body plethysmograph (Warren E. Collins). Values were expressed as a percentage of previously published normal values.12,13 Following informed consent, all subjects
Results
The anthropometric, spirometric, and arterial blood gas data for the 31 male patients with obstructive sleep apnea are presented in Table 1. On average the group was obese (weight/height ratio = 0.66 kg/cm) and mildly hypoxemic (arterial oxygen pressure [PaO2] = 70 ± 13 mmHg) but normocapnic (arterial carbon dioxide tension [PaCO2] = 40±4 mm Hg) while awake at rest. Tests of pulmonary function demonstrated slight reductions in forced vital capacity (FVC), functional residual capacity (FRC), and
Discussion
Although excessive daytime sleepiness is the major incapacitating clinical symptom experienced by patients with obstructive sleep apnea, the long-term morbidity and mortality of the disorder are importantly related to the cardiovascular consequences of the repetitive episodes of oxyhemoglobin desaturation. In one series, three out of 23 patients who did not undergo surgical therapy for their obstructive sleep apnea died suddenly during sleep within six months of diagnosis, and another patient
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Obstructive Sleep Apnea and Cardiovascular Disease
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2019, Journal of the American College of Cardiology2018 ACC/AHA/HRS Guideline on the Evaluation and Management of Patients With Bradycardia and Cardiac Conduction Delay: A Report of the American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association Task Force on Clinical Practice Guidelines and the Heart Rhythm Society
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