Results demonstrate ‘paradigm shift’ in OSA research
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Cardiac troponin-I levels lower in sleep apnea patients

The presence of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) may have a protective effect in patients with acute coronary syndromes, according to researchers.

In a study of 127 patients presenting with acute coronary syndromes (ACS), median peak cardiac troponin-I (cTn-I) values were significantly higher in patients without obstructive sleep apnea, compared with OSA patients (10.7; interquartile range: 1.78-40.1, vs. 3.79; IQR: 0.37-24.3, respectively; P = .04 ). The findings were published Feb. 5 in the journal CHEST®.

The study comprised 89 OSA patients and 38 non-OSA patients who were admitted to a hospital for acute coronary syndromes. The OSA group had a median apnea-hypopnea index (AHI) of 32, while the non-OSA group had a median AHI of 4.8. There was no significant difference between the two groups in gender, age, or cardiovascular risk factors such as hypertension, diabetes mellitus, body mass index, dyslipidemia, and smoking.

The cohort was part of the Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP) in Patients With Acute Coronary Syndrome and Obstructive Sleep Apnea (ISAACC) study, a prior randomized, controlled trial that evaluated the effect of CPAP treatment on new cardiovascular events in patients with an episode of ACS and OSA, reported Alicia Sánchez-de-la-Torre, PhD, of the respiratory department at Hospital Universitari Arnau de Vilanova and Santa Maria in Catalonia, Spain, and her coauthors.

Respiratory polygraphy was performed in the first 24-72 hours after hospital admission, and patients with an AHI of at least 15 events per hour were considered to have OSA. Those with an AHI less than 15 events per hour were included in the non-OSA group.

 

The OSA patients were randomized to conservative or CPAP treatment. An obstructive apnea “episode” was defined as a complete cessation of airflow for 10 seconds or longer, and an episode of hypopnea was defined as a reduction in airflow for at least 10 seconds associated with a greater than 4% decrease in arterial oxygen saturation.

 

 

Blood samples were collected from patients every 6 hours until two consecutive cTn-I measurements showed a decrease, with the highest measurement considered the peak cTn-I value.

Peak cTn-I value was significantly higher in non-OSA patients than in OSA patients. Median infarct size, measured by calculating the area under the cTn-I curve, was significantly different between the two groups (451 for non-OSA patients vs. 143 in OSA patients; P = .049), wrote Dr. Sánchez-de-la-Torre and her colleagues.

As cTn-I levels decreased, there was a trend toward increased OSA severity (P = .058). In the multivariable linear regression model used to assess OSA severity, patients with severe OSA had 61% lower cTn-I levels than non-OSA patients, the authors noted.

“The effects of chronic hypoxia in individual organ systems are not well understood. While chronic sustained hypoxia as seen with COPD may lead to pulmonary hypertension, chronic intermittent hypoxia (CIH) as seen predominantly in sleep apnea has been attributed to causing widespread effects ranging from systemic hypertension to metabolic dysfunction and systemic inflammation,” noted Krishna Sundar, MD, FCCP. “Despite these associations, an increased risk of major cardiovascular events from untreated OSA is yet to be definitively established.”
Dr. Krishna Sundar


In this article, a protective effect from OSA on myocardial ischemic events is demonstrated in a group of 127 consecutively admitted patients with acute coronary syndrome (ACS). While it is interesting that a high proportion of those admitted for ACS had OSA, there were no significant differences in the age, sex, BMI, usage of antihypertensive or antiplatelet agents, presence of hypertension, DM, dyslipidemia or smoking status between those with and without OSA. “OSA appeared to confer a protective effect on the size of myocardial injury with those having higher AHI values demonstrating lower peak cardiac troponin values,” said Dr. Sundar, who is an associate clinical professor of pulmonary, critical care and sleep medicine at the University of Utah.“An effect of age (mean age in this study being 64 years) and BMI (mean being 27) on the occurrence of preconditioning effects of OSA is not excluded given deleterious effects of untreated OSA on infarct size in other studies on obese or younger patients with ACS. Further understanding of molecular effects of chronic hypoxia exposure (high altitude, chronic lung disease, OSA) is required before the complex and often contradictory effects of chronic hypoxia can be affirmed as being protective or deleterious,” added Dr. Sundar, who is also medical director of the Sleep-Wake Center at the University of Utah and a member of CHEST Physician’s editorial advisory board.
 

 

According to the study’s authors, their findings “suggest that patients with higher AHI are significantly more likely to have low cTn-I levels than patients without evidence of OSA, which could imply that patients with elevated AHI, particularly those with severe OSA, may experience less severe myocardial injury.”Limitations of the study include exclusion of patients with severe ACS, exclusion of sleepy subjects, and assessment of myocardial injury using cTn-I as a biomarker, without further data to determine infarct size.

“The possible role of OSA in cardio­protection should be explored in future studies,” the authors concluded.

The authors disclosed relationships with ResMed, Spanish Ministry of Health, Spanish Respiratory Society, Catalonian Cardiology Society, and ALLER. No other disclosures were reported.

chestphysiciannews@chestnet.org

SOURCE: Chest. 2018 Feb 5;153[2]:329-38. doi: 10.1016/j.chest.2017.06.046.

Body

Although this study cannot definitively establish a clinically meaningful protective effect, it does provide important “preliminary evidence supporting the concept of OSA-induced cardioprotection” and challenges existing research, according to an editorial by Doron Aronson, MD, of the department of cardiology at Rambam Medical Center, Haifa, Israel, and coauthors (CHEST. 2018 Feb 153[2]:295-7. doi: 10.1016/j.chest.2017.07.036).

The results should be interpreted with caution, especially since accurate assessment of infarct size poses a challenge, they wrote.

“Myocardial infarct size is highly variable and is influenced by the duration of coronary occlusion, ST-segment elevation or non–ST elevation myocardial infarction, infarct location, residual antegrade infarct-related artery flow, collateral flow, the presence of non–culprit vessel coronary artery disease and myocardial metabolic demand,” they wrote. “Without accounting for these variables in a small study, results may be affected by variation in the characteristics of the patients.”

Though further study is needed, the findings may have “profound clinical implications regarding our therapeutic approach to patients with sleep apnea” if confirmed, the authors concluded.

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Cardiac troponin-I levels lower in sleep apnea patients
Cardiac troponin-I levels lower in sleep apnea patients
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Although this study cannot definitively establish a clinically meaningful protective effect, it does provide important “preliminary evidence supporting the concept of OSA-induced cardioprotection” and challenges existing research, according to an editorial by Doron Aronson, MD, of the department of cardiology at Rambam Medical Center, Haifa, Israel, and coauthors (CHEST. 2018 Feb 153[2]:295-7. doi: 10.1016/j.chest.2017.07.036).

The results should be interpreted with caution, especially since accurate assessment of infarct size poses a challenge, they wrote.

“Myocardial infarct size is highly variable and is influenced by the duration of coronary occlusion, ST-segment elevation or non–ST elevation myocardial infarction, infarct location, residual antegrade infarct-related artery flow, collateral flow, the presence of non–culprit vessel coronary artery disease and myocardial metabolic demand,” they wrote. “Without accounting for these variables in a small study, results may be affected by variation in the characteristics of the patients.”

Though further study is needed, the findings may have “profound clinical implications regarding our therapeutic approach to patients with sleep apnea” if confirmed, the authors concluded.

Body

Although this study cannot definitively establish a clinically meaningful protective effect, it does provide important “preliminary evidence supporting the concept of OSA-induced cardioprotection” and challenges existing research, according to an editorial by Doron Aronson, MD, of the department of cardiology at Rambam Medical Center, Haifa, Israel, and coauthors (CHEST. 2018 Feb 153[2]:295-7. doi: 10.1016/j.chest.2017.07.036).

The results should be interpreted with caution, especially since accurate assessment of infarct size poses a challenge, they wrote.

“Myocardial infarct size is highly variable and is influenced by the duration of coronary occlusion, ST-segment elevation or non–ST elevation myocardial infarction, infarct location, residual antegrade infarct-related artery flow, collateral flow, the presence of non–culprit vessel coronary artery disease and myocardial metabolic demand,” they wrote. “Without accounting for these variables in a small study, results may be affected by variation in the characteristics of the patients.”

Though further study is needed, the findings may have “profound clinical implications regarding our therapeutic approach to patients with sleep apnea” if confirmed, the authors concluded.

Title
Results demonstrate ‘paradigm shift’ in OSA research
Results demonstrate ‘paradigm shift’ in OSA research

The presence of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) may have a protective effect in patients with acute coronary syndromes, according to researchers.

In a study of 127 patients presenting with acute coronary syndromes (ACS), median peak cardiac troponin-I (cTn-I) values were significantly higher in patients without obstructive sleep apnea, compared with OSA patients (10.7; interquartile range: 1.78-40.1, vs. 3.79; IQR: 0.37-24.3, respectively; P = .04 ). The findings were published Feb. 5 in the journal CHEST®.

The study comprised 89 OSA patients and 38 non-OSA patients who were admitted to a hospital for acute coronary syndromes. The OSA group had a median apnea-hypopnea index (AHI) of 32, while the non-OSA group had a median AHI of 4.8. There was no significant difference between the two groups in gender, age, or cardiovascular risk factors such as hypertension, diabetes mellitus, body mass index, dyslipidemia, and smoking.

The cohort was part of the Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP) in Patients With Acute Coronary Syndrome and Obstructive Sleep Apnea (ISAACC) study, a prior randomized, controlled trial that evaluated the effect of CPAP treatment on new cardiovascular events in patients with an episode of ACS and OSA, reported Alicia Sánchez-de-la-Torre, PhD, of the respiratory department at Hospital Universitari Arnau de Vilanova and Santa Maria in Catalonia, Spain, and her coauthors.

Respiratory polygraphy was performed in the first 24-72 hours after hospital admission, and patients with an AHI of at least 15 events per hour were considered to have OSA. Those with an AHI less than 15 events per hour were included in the non-OSA group.

 

The OSA patients were randomized to conservative or CPAP treatment. An obstructive apnea “episode” was defined as a complete cessation of airflow for 10 seconds or longer, and an episode of hypopnea was defined as a reduction in airflow for at least 10 seconds associated with a greater than 4% decrease in arterial oxygen saturation.

 

 

Blood samples were collected from patients every 6 hours until two consecutive cTn-I measurements showed a decrease, with the highest measurement considered the peak cTn-I value.

Peak cTn-I value was significantly higher in non-OSA patients than in OSA patients. Median infarct size, measured by calculating the area under the cTn-I curve, was significantly different between the two groups (451 for non-OSA patients vs. 143 in OSA patients; P = .049), wrote Dr. Sánchez-de-la-Torre and her colleagues.

As cTn-I levels decreased, there was a trend toward increased OSA severity (P = .058). In the multivariable linear regression model used to assess OSA severity, patients with severe OSA had 61% lower cTn-I levels than non-OSA patients, the authors noted.

“The effects of chronic hypoxia in individual organ systems are not well understood. While chronic sustained hypoxia as seen with COPD may lead to pulmonary hypertension, chronic intermittent hypoxia (CIH) as seen predominantly in sleep apnea has been attributed to causing widespread effects ranging from systemic hypertension to metabolic dysfunction and systemic inflammation,” noted Krishna Sundar, MD, FCCP. “Despite these associations, an increased risk of major cardiovascular events from untreated OSA is yet to be definitively established.”
Dr. Krishna Sundar


In this article, a protective effect from OSA on myocardial ischemic events is demonstrated in a group of 127 consecutively admitted patients with acute coronary syndrome (ACS). While it is interesting that a high proportion of those admitted for ACS had OSA, there were no significant differences in the age, sex, BMI, usage of antihypertensive or antiplatelet agents, presence of hypertension, DM, dyslipidemia or smoking status between those with and without OSA. “OSA appeared to confer a protective effect on the size of myocardial injury with those having higher AHI values demonstrating lower peak cardiac troponin values,” said Dr. Sundar, who is an associate clinical professor of pulmonary, critical care and sleep medicine at the University of Utah.“An effect of age (mean age in this study being 64 years) and BMI (mean being 27) on the occurrence of preconditioning effects of OSA is not excluded given deleterious effects of untreated OSA on infarct size in other studies on obese or younger patients with ACS. Further understanding of molecular effects of chronic hypoxia exposure (high altitude, chronic lung disease, OSA) is required before the complex and often contradictory effects of chronic hypoxia can be affirmed as being protective or deleterious,” added Dr. Sundar, who is also medical director of the Sleep-Wake Center at the University of Utah and a member of CHEST Physician’s editorial advisory board.
 

 

According to the study’s authors, their findings “suggest that patients with higher AHI are significantly more likely to have low cTn-I levels than patients without evidence of OSA, which could imply that patients with elevated AHI, particularly those with severe OSA, may experience less severe myocardial injury.”Limitations of the study include exclusion of patients with severe ACS, exclusion of sleepy subjects, and assessment of myocardial injury using cTn-I as a biomarker, without further data to determine infarct size.

“The possible role of OSA in cardio­protection should be explored in future studies,” the authors concluded.

The authors disclosed relationships with ResMed, Spanish Ministry of Health, Spanish Respiratory Society, Catalonian Cardiology Society, and ALLER. No other disclosures were reported.

chestphysiciannews@chestnet.org

SOURCE: Chest. 2018 Feb 5;153[2]:329-38. doi: 10.1016/j.chest.2017.06.046.

The presence of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) may have a protective effect in patients with acute coronary syndromes, according to researchers.

In a study of 127 patients presenting with acute coronary syndromes (ACS), median peak cardiac troponin-I (cTn-I) values were significantly higher in patients without obstructive sleep apnea, compared with OSA patients (10.7; interquartile range: 1.78-40.1, vs. 3.79; IQR: 0.37-24.3, respectively; P = .04 ). The findings were published Feb. 5 in the journal CHEST®.

The study comprised 89 OSA patients and 38 non-OSA patients who were admitted to a hospital for acute coronary syndromes. The OSA group had a median apnea-hypopnea index (AHI) of 32, while the non-OSA group had a median AHI of 4.8. There was no significant difference between the two groups in gender, age, or cardiovascular risk factors such as hypertension, diabetes mellitus, body mass index, dyslipidemia, and smoking.

The cohort was part of the Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP) in Patients With Acute Coronary Syndrome and Obstructive Sleep Apnea (ISAACC) study, a prior randomized, controlled trial that evaluated the effect of CPAP treatment on new cardiovascular events in patients with an episode of ACS and OSA, reported Alicia Sánchez-de-la-Torre, PhD, of the respiratory department at Hospital Universitari Arnau de Vilanova and Santa Maria in Catalonia, Spain, and her coauthors.

Respiratory polygraphy was performed in the first 24-72 hours after hospital admission, and patients with an AHI of at least 15 events per hour were considered to have OSA. Those with an AHI less than 15 events per hour were included in the non-OSA group.

 

The OSA patients were randomized to conservative or CPAP treatment. An obstructive apnea “episode” was defined as a complete cessation of airflow for 10 seconds or longer, and an episode of hypopnea was defined as a reduction in airflow for at least 10 seconds associated with a greater than 4% decrease in arterial oxygen saturation.

 

 

Blood samples were collected from patients every 6 hours until two consecutive cTn-I measurements showed a decrease, with the highest measurement considered the peak cTn-I value.

Peak cTn-I value was significantly higher in non-OSA patients than in OSA patients. Median infarct size, measured by calculating the area under the cTn-I curve, was significantly different between the two groups (451 for non-OSA patients vs. 143 in OSA patients; P = .049), wrote Dr. Sánchez-de-la-Torre and her colleagues.

As cTn-I levels decreased, there was a trend toward increased OSA severity (P = .058). In the multivariable linear regression model used to assess OSA severity, patients with severe OSA had 61% lower cTn-I levels than non-OSA patients, the authors noted.

“The effects of chronic hypoxia in individual organ systems are not well understood. While chronic sustained hypoxia as seen with COPD may lead to pulmonary hypertension, chronic intermittent hypoxia (CIH) as seen predominantly in sleep apnea has been attributed to causing widespread effects ranging from systemic hypertension to metabolic dysfunction and systemic inflammation,” noted Krishna Sundar, MD, FCCP. “Despite these associations, an increased risk of major cardiovascular events from untreated OSA is yet to be definitively established.”
Dr. Krishna Sundar


In this article, a protective effect from OSA on myocardial ischemic events is demonstrated in a group of 127 consecutively admitted patients with acute coronary syndrome (ACS). While it is interesting that a high proportion of those admitted for ACS had OSA, there were no significant differences in the age, sex, BMI, usage of antihypertensive or antiplatelet agents, presence of hypertension, DM, dyslipidemia or smoking status between those with and without OSA. “OSA appeared to confer a protective effect on the size of myocardial injury with those having higher AHI values demonstrating lower peak cardiac troponin values,” said Dr. Sundar, who is an associate clinical professor of pulmonary, critical care and sleep medicine at the University of Utah.“An effect of age (mean age in this study being 64 years) and BMI (mean being 27) on the occurrence of preconditioning effects of OSA is not excluded given deleterious effects of untreated OSA on infarct size in other studies on obese or younger patients with ACS. Further understanding of molecular effects of chronic hypoxia exposure (high altitude, chronic lung disease, OSA) is required before the complex and often contradictory effects of chronic hypoxia can be affirmed as being protective or deleterious,” added Dr. Sundar, who is also medical director of the Sleep-Wake Center at the University of Utah and a member of CHEST Physician’s editorial advisory board.
 

 

According to the study’s authors, their findings “suggest that patients with higher AHI are significantly more likely to have low cTn-I levels than patients without evidence of OSA, which could imply that patients with elevated AHI, particularly those with severe OSA, may experience less severe myocardial injury.”Limitations of the study include exclusion of patients with severe ACS, exclusion of sleepy subjects, and assessment of myocardial injury using cTn-I as a biomarker, without further data to determine infarct size.

“The possible role of OSA in cardio­protection should be explored in future studies,” the authors concluded.

The authors disclosed relationships with ResMed, Spanish Ministry of Health, Spanish Respiratory Society, Catalonian Cardiology Society, and ALLER. No other disclosures were reported.

chestphysiciannews@chestnet.org

SOURCE: Chest. 2018 Feb 5;153[2]:329-38. doi: 10.1016/j.chest.2017.06.046.

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