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THURSDAY, March 8, 2018 (HealthDay News) — Severe obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) that occurs during REM sleep is associated with recurrent cardiovascular events in those with pre-existing cardiovascular disease, according to a study published in the March 1 issue of the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine<\/i>.<\/p>\n
R. Nisha Aurora, M.D., from Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, and colleagues examined the association between OSA during REM sleep and a composite cardiovascular end point over an average of 9.5 years of follow-up in participants of the Sleep Heart Health Study with and without prevalent cardiovascular disease. Only those with a non-REM apnea-hypopnea index (AHI) of <5.0 events\/hour were included.<\/p>\n
The researchers found that the adjusted hazard ratio (HR) for the composite cardiovascular end point among the 180 with severe REM OSA (\u226530 events\/hour) was 1.35 (95 percent confidence interval, 0.98 to 1.85), compared to the reference group of REM AHI <5.0 events\/hour (1,758 patients). The finding was strengthened in those with prevalent cardiovascular disease and severe OSA during REM sleep (adjusted HR, 2.56; 95 percent confidence interval, 1.46 to 4.47).<\/p>\n
“Severe OSA that is present only during REM sleep is associated with recurrent cardiovascular events in people who have prevalent cardiovascular disease,” the authors write.<\/p>\n
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