"Central Sleep Apnea May Up Risk Of Atrial Fibrillation"
Central Sleep Apnea may double or triple the risk of atrial fibrillation, according to researchers. Patients who developed atrial fibrillation were older, more likely to have high blood pressure or diabetes, take heart medicines, and have a previous history of heart disease, heart failure or stroke compared to those that did not develop atrial fibrillation. Neomi Shah, MD, MPH, associate professor of pulmonary, medicine, and critical care at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai said that while she agrees with the study results, “a majority of the people with central sleep apnea also had at least mild obstructive sleep apnea,” and although the authors took that into account when they did their analyses, obstructive sleep apnea may still have affected the risk to some extent. “Central sleep apnea is commonly seen in people with heart failure and those who use opioid-based medications,” Dr. Shah added.
- Neomi A. Shah, MD, MPH, Associate Professor, Medicine, Pulmonary, Critical Care, Sleep Medicine, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
