Sleep apnoea and heart failure
Heart failure is a growing problem worldwide that rises with age, and is estimated to affect 6-10% of people aged over 65.1
Up to 73% of patients with stable heart failure experience sleep-disordered breathing (SDB),2 with Cheyne-Stokes respiration (CSR), obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) or central sleep apnoea (CSA).
What is CSR?
CSR occurs when periods of hyperventilation and hypoventilation, in a waxing and waning breathing pattern, alternate with periods of central hypopnea and apnoea.
CSR has been found to be a highly prevalent form of SDB in patients with severe left ventricular dysfunction.3
What are the consequences of CSR?
Nocturnal CSA/CSR is associated with increased mortality4 in CHF patients.
CSR may accelerate the progression of heart failure by causing:
- repetitive hypoxia
- increased afterload
- increased sympathetic activity5
- oscillations in heart rate and blood pressure6.
Fragmented sleep resulting from CSR also causes fatigue which impacts quality of life.6
