[Home oxygen therapy (HOT) for patients with heart failure associated with sleep disturbed breathing]

Recently, there is increasing evidence that sleep apnea may adversely affect pathophysiology and outcomes of congestive heart failure (CHF). Repetitive nocturnal apneas may worsen CHF through a number of mechanisms including the repetitive arterial oxygen desaturation, increased left ventricular afterload, or an activation of sympathetic nervous system. Although central sleep apnea (CSA) is relatively rare, prospective studies revealed that 33 to 82 % of patients with CHF have evidence of CSA and characteristic Cheyne-Stokes respiration (CSR). We assessed an efficacy of nasal O2 therapy at night using a conventional O2 concentrator in ambulatory patients with stable CHF and CSR. O2 resulted in a significant improvement of sleep together with an increase in left ventricular function and quality of life. Therefore, home oxygen therapy(HOT) can be a valuable nonpharmacological option for the treatment of patients with CHF and CSR-CSA.