Extract
Obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) is increasingly recognised as a risk factor for stroke [1]. However, the incidence of stroke in patients investigated for OSA has been assessed in a limited number of studies reporting conflicting results on the association between the apnoea-hypopnea index (AHI) and stroke incidence [1–3]. As OSA is a very heterogeneous condition, the identification of subgroups of patients at high risk for stroke would be clinically desirable, in order to implement preventive actions [1]. Population-based studies have demonstrated that the sleep apnoea specific hypoxic burden (SASHB), an easily derived signal from polysomnography (PSG), predicts cardiovascular mortality and incident heart failure [4, 5]. A recent study has demonstrated that night-time heart rate variability (HRV) might play an important role in the association between OSA and the cerebral small vessel disease, which is responsible for a substantial proportion of strokes [6]. Whether physiological markers of SASHB and HRV might be useful in clinical setting for identifying those patients with OSA at risk for stroke remains to be determined. Within a large multicentre clinic-based cohort of patients investigated for OSA, we hypothesised that PSG-derived indices of SASHB and HRV could predict stroke incidence.
Footnotes
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Conflict of interest: Dr. Blanchard has nothing to disclose.
Conflict of interest: Dr. Gerves-Pinquie has nothing to disclose.
Conflict of interest: Dr. Feuilloy has nothing to disclose.
Conflict of interest: Dr. Le Vaillant has nothing to disclose.
Conflict of interest: Dr. Trzepizur has nothing to disclose.
Conflict of interest: Dr. Meslier has nothing to disclose.
Conflict of interest: Dr. Goupil has nothing to disclose.
Conflict of interest: Dr. Pigeanne has nothing to disclose.
Conflict of interest: Dr. Balusson has nothing to disclose.
Conflict of interest: Dr. Oger has nothing to disclose.
Conflict of interest: Dr. Sabil has nothing to disclose.
Conflict of interest: Dr. Girault has nothing to disclose.
Conflict of interest: Dr. GAGNADOUX reports grants and personal fees from RESMED, personal fees and non-financial support from SEFAM, personal fees from CIDELEC, personal fees and non-financial support from NOVARTIS, personal fees from ACTELION, non-financial support from BOEHRINGER INGELHEIM, personal fees and non-financial support from AIR LIQUIDE SANTE, non-financial support from ASTEN, outside the submitted work.
- Received September 23, 2020.
- Accepted November 2, 2020.
- Copyright ©ERS 2020