Findings consistent across three measures of hypoxia, when adjusting for pulmonary physiology<\/p>\n<\/h3>\n
By Lori Solomon HealthDay Reporter<\/b><\/p>\n
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WEDNESDAY, Nov. 22, 2023 (HealthDay News) — Sleep-related hypoxia is associated with incident atrial fibrillation (AF), according to a study published online Nov. 10 in the\u00a0Journal of the American Heart Association<\/em>.\u00a0<\/p>\n Catherine M. Heinzinger, D.O., from the Cleveland Clinic, and colleagues examined the association between sleep-disordered breathing, hypoxia, and pulmonary physiology on atrial fibrillation. The analysis included 42,057 patients who underwent sleep studies at a single institution between 2000 and 2015.\u00a0<\/p>\n The researchers found that 4.6 percent of participants developed AF over five\u00e2\u0080\u0089years. An increase of 10 units in the apnea-hypopnea index was associated with a trend toward higher AF risk (hazard ratio, 1.02; 95 percent confidence interval [CI], 1.00 to 1.03). Associations were seen for a 10-unit increase in percentage time oxygen saturation <90 percent and 10-unit decreases in mean and minimum oxygen saturation with higher AF risk (hazard ratios [95 percent CI], 1.06 [1.04 to 1.08], 1.30 [1.18 to 1.42], and 1.09 [1.03 to 1.15], respectively). Among the subset of 9,683 patients with spirometry data, only hypoxia remained significantly associated with incident AF in an adjusted analysis.\u00a0<\/p>\n “Findings set the stage to better understand hypoxic mechanisms leading to atrial arrhythmia and indicate a potential role for nocturnal supplemental oxygen therapy in prevention of atrial arrhythmogenesis,” the authors write.<\/p>\n