Echocardiographic Findings in Healthy Elderly People with Unrecognized Sleep Disordered Breathing

Sleep disordered breathing (SDB) is associated with cardiovascular disease such as hypertension and left ventricular hypertrophy in middle-aged patients; however, this association is not well described in the elderly. The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of unrecognized SDB on cardiac function and remodeling in a population-based sample of healthy elderly without cardiac disease.

A total of 405 healthy elderly (age ≥ 65 years) were examined by echocardiography and respiratory polygraphy. According to the apnea-hypopnea index (AHI), subjects were stratified in four categories: snorers (AHI < 5), mild (AHI: 5-15), moderate (AHI: 15-30), and severe (AHI > 30) cases.

Comparative analysis between snorers and SDB cases revealed that left atrial (LA) diameter and surface increased according to SDB severity (p < 0.05) without differences in LA mass index. In subjects with an AHI > 30, an increase was found for LV end-diastolic and end-systolic dimension (p < 0.001), as well as for LV mass (p < 0.03) and LV index (p < 0.05). The current study showed a weak but significant correlation between altered LA and LV measurements versus AHI and hypoxemia indices (p < 0.001). In the regression analysis, AHI and hypoxemia had a minimal effect, body mass index and male gender being the most significant predictors.

In a population of healthy elderly with SDB, slight changes in left atrial and ventricular measurements occur in severe cases (AHI > 30). Irrespective of the lack of a strong association between SDB and cardiac dysfunction, the presence of slight cardiac pathology in severe SDB cases might be considered.

NCT 00759304 and NCT 00766584.