( In a study researchers found that almo...)Pacemaker Patients Should Be Screened for Sleep Apnea,Health

In a study, researchers found that almost 60 percent of pacemaker patients had undiagnosed sleep apnea which might have possibly contributed to their heart disease//. This study is reported in Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association.

Moreover, more than 21 percent of the patients had severe sleep apnea, characterized by 30 or more periods of interrupted breathing each hour during sleep, said Patrick Lévy, M.D., Ph.D., senior author of the study and a professor physiology at Grenoble University in Grenoble, France.

“Because of the excessive prevalence of undiagnosed sleep apnea we found, it could be recommended that all patients referred for a pacemaker should first be screened for sleep apnea. Sleep apnea is known to increase risk of cardiovascular disease,” Lévy said.

In the study, researchers investigated the prevalence and consequences of undiagnosed sleep apnea in pacemaker patients. Ninety-eight French, British and Belgian pacemaker patients (average age 64) who were undiagnosed with sleep apnea underwent laboratory monitoring of their sleep.

Twenty-nine patients had received pacemakers to treat heart failure, which means that the heart cannot efficiently pump blood. Thirty-three patients had a high degree atrioventricular block or AV block, which is a blocked electrical signal from the heart’s upper chamber (atria) to the pumping chamber (ventricle).

Thirty-six had sinus node disease, in which a heart chamber pumps too fast or too slow.

Abnormally slow heart rhythms (Bradycardic rhythm disorders) are common among patients with obstructive sleep apnea.

Researchers screened the patients with the Epworth Sleepiness Scale and polysomnography, a device that records breathing and sleep. The pacemakers were programmed to pace the heart at a uniform lower pacing rate. Sleep apnea was defined as an apnea hypopnea (abnormally shallow breathing) index of 10 or more an hour.
'"/>




Page: 1 2
Related medicine news :

1. Epilepsy Patients Could Benefit From Pacemakers
2. Withdrawal Notice Issued For Older Pacemakers Due To Malfunctioning of the Device
3. Stem Cells Could Replace Electronic Pacemakers
4. Novel Biological Pacemaker Under Construction for Weak Hearts
5. Reliability of Pacemakers and Defibrillators to be Improved
6. Bladder Pacemaker For Incontinence
7. One in Three Heart Attack Patients Have No Chest Pains
8. Amphetamines Help Recovery of Stroke Patients
9. Painkillers Do Not Shorten Dying Patients Lives
10. Patients With Filariasis More Prone To HIV Infection
11. Glivec - New Hope For CMC Patients