Application of Modified Life's Essential 8 Framework in Sleep Surgery Clinic Patients

Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) increases cardiovascular (CV) risk, yet assessments of comprehensive CV health in OSA are limited. This pilot study evaluates CV health among OSA patients through Life's Essential 8 (LE8), the American Heart Association's comprehensive framework evaluating CV health across multiple lifestyle and clinical domains.

Patients presenting to our OSA surgery clinic (July 2024-November 2025) were included if data were available for all LE8 components (diet, physical activity, nicotine exposure, sleep duration, body mass index [BMI], blood pressure [BP], lipid, and glucose profiles). Composite LE8 scores of < 50, 50-80, and > 80 indicated poor, intermediate, and ideal CV health.

Fifty-eight patients with OSA (age 58.3 ± 12.1 years; BMI 29.3 ± 4.5 kg/m²; apnea-hypopnea index 31.6 ± 24.7) were included. Most reported weekly exercise ≤ 150 min (53.4%, n = 31) and unhealthy or intermediate dietary quality (74.1%, n = 43). Average non-HDL cholesterol was 116.0 ± 44.5 mg/dL; fasting glucose, 103.6 ± 37.3 mg/dL; HbA1c, 5.7% ± 0.9%; systolic BP, 124.4 ± 18.0 mmHg; diastolic BP, 77.7 ± 8.3 mmHg; and nightly sleep duration, 6.4 ± 1.4 h. Mean composite LE8 score was 64.9 ± 16.1, indicating intermediate CV health. By LE8 score, 12.1% of patients had ideal, 70.7% intermediate, and 17.2% poor CV health.

Patients within our OSA surgery clinic had intermediate CV health per LE8. Improving modifiable factors, such as diet, physical activity, and sleep duration would raise overall CV health in this population susceptible to elevated CV risk.