Sleep-disordered breathing profiles in patients with cardiovascular diseases: Kurume SDB-CVD study

Sleep-disordered breathing (SDB) links to various cardiovascular diseases (CVDs), but comprehensive insights and detailed profiles remain scarce. This study examined the clinical characteristics of CVD patients complicated by SDB in the enrolled all consecutive 5765 patients who underwent screening tests for SDB during hospitalization from January 2014 to December 2019, using the database of Cardiovascular Medicine, Kurume University Hospital. Desaturation during sleep in SDB was significantly worse in terms of age, sex, daytime resting oxygen saturation (SpO₂), systolic blood pressure (SBP), pulse pressure, body mass index (BMI), white blood cell count, hemoglobin A1c, serum creatinine, N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP), cardiothoracic ratio on chest X-ray, and left ventricular ejection fraction on echocardiography (all p-values < 0.001, except for SBP p = 0.002, and NT-proBNP p = 0.004). Coronary artery disease and heart failure, but not pulmonary hypertension, were associated with a higher prevalence and a greater risk of moderate to severe SDB, typically in older patients. Notably, low SpO₂ during daytime and elevated BMI were indicative of SDB across all age categories for both sexes. Heatmaps of daytime SpO₂ and BMI can effectively predict the severe SDB in patients with CVDs, suggesting the potential for efficient therapeutic interventions for SDB.