2,3 Cheyne-Stokes respiration occurs during CSA and is a distinct pattern of periodic breathing with alternating crescendo-decrescendo sequences of hyperventilation and apnea (ie, complete breathing cessation).ĬSA may have an important influence on prognosis, in that its presence is associated with increased mortality in CHF patients. The prevalence of CSA in CHF patients is dependent on various factors, such as heart failure etiology, gender, age, ejection fraction, and hemodynamic status, and has been estimated at 40% to 60%. Sleep apnea constitutes a major public health problem because of its high prevalence and its emerging association with cardiovascular morbidity.ĬSA is especially relevant to CHF.

1 CSA is primarily seen in patients with congestive heart failure (CHF), although it occasionally may occur in healthy normal subjects, in people at high altitudes, and in association with central neural lesions. When defined as >5 episodes of apnea or hypopnea per hour of sleep, OSA is relatively common, affecting 24% and 9% of middle-aged men and women, respectively. Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is caused by upper airway collapse during inspiration and is accompanied by strenuous breathing efforts. Central sleep apnea (CSA) is characterized by apneas secondary to diminution or cessation of thoraco-abdominal respiratory movements (due to dysfunction of central respiratory control mechanisms). Sleep apnea can be central or obstructive. Sleep apnea is defined as repetitive episodes of decreased or total cessation of respiratory airflow during sleep, leading to a fall in oxygen saturation of ≥4% and sleep fragmentation.

Customer Service and Ordering Information.

Stroke: Vascular and Interventional Neurology.

Journal of the American Heart Association (JAHA).

Circ: Cardiovascular Quality & Outcomes.

Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis, and Vascular Biology (ATVB).

Sleep Apnea by Brady Nelson