Breathing Disorders in Patients With Congestive Heart Failure
Breathing Disorders in Patients With Congestive Heart Failure
The investigators prospectively evaluated 89 consecutive outpatients (29 female) with stable
 congestive heart failure. The presence of sleep disordered breathing (SDB) and Cheyne-Stokes
 respiration (CSR) while awake were investigated by overnight polysomnography. Males and
 females were similar in age, body mass index, and LVEF. Prevalence of SDB was higher in males
 than females. During follow up of 25±10 months, 27% of the population died. Nonsurvivors had
 lower LVEF (p=0.01), worse NYHA class (p=0.03) a higher proportion of CSR-awake (p<0.001)
 than survivors.
Bakground: There is little information in sleep disordered breathing (SDB) in women with
 congestive heart failure (CHF). We studied consecutive CHF patients in order to compare SDB
 characteristics according to gender, and to determine overall mortality impact of SDB and
 Cheyne-Stokes respiration (CSR) while awake.

 Methods: Eighty nine consecutive outpatients (29 female) with stable CHF (LVEF<45%) were
 prospectively evaluated. The presence of SDB, as characterized by obstructive sleep apnea
 (OSA) and CSR during sleep, as well as CSR while awake before sleep onset, were investigated
 by overnight polysomnography.
Inclusion Criteria:

 -  Patients with resting left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) of less than 45% as
 determined by echocardiography;

 -  Stable clinical condition as defined by no changes in drug therapy for at least one
 month before evaluation.

 Exclusion Criteria:

 -  Patients with neurological, pulmonary, renal, musculoskeletal disease, unstable
 angina, primary valvular heart disease or previous diagnosis of sleep disordered
 breathing.