Cheyne-Stokes Breathing as a Predictive Indicator of Heart Failure in Patients With Obstructive Sleep Apnea; A...

Area of Science:

• Cardiology
• Pulmonology
• Sleep Medicine

Background:

• Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is often comorbid with heart failure (HF).
• Cheyne-Stokes breathing (CSB) is a common respiratory pattern in HF patients.
• Continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) is a standard treatment for OSA.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the utility of remote monitoring of CSB in predicting HF onset among OSA patients on CPAP.
• To analyze CSB variations and cycle length (CL) in relation to HF development and exacerbation.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective case-control study involving OSA patients treated with CPAP.
• Comparison of CSB rate (CSB%) and CL between HF groups (acute HF, chronic HF exacerbation) and a non-HF control group.
• Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis to determine optimal cut-off values for CSB variations and CL.

Main Results:

• Significant differences in chronological CSB% changes were observed among the groups.
• Higher standard deviation of CSB% (SD CSB%) and longer CSB CL were noted in HF patients compared to controls.
• CSB CL was significantly longer during HF exacerbations than in stable periods, with an optimal cut-off of 68.9 s for predicting HF onset.

Conclusions:

• Greater CSB variations and longer CL are associated with HF in OSA patients.
• Remote monitoring of CSB data from CPAP devices may enable early prediction of HF onset and exacerbation.
• CSB CL serves as a potential biomarker for HF progression in OSA patients.