Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is characterized by intermittent hypoxia during sleep. We tested the hypothesis that nocturnal myocardial ischemia is detectable by ST segment depression and elevation of high sensitive troponin T (hsTrop T) and B-type natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) in patients with OSA and coexisting coronary artery disease (CAD). Twenty-one patients with OSA and CAD and 20 patie...

OBSTRUCTIVE SLEEP APNEA SYNDROME (OSA) IS ASSOCIATED WITH INCREASED RISK OF CARDIOVASCULAR AND CEREBROVASCULAR MORBIDITY AND MORTALITY.1-4 Repetitive episodes of complete or partial collapse of the upper airway leading to recurrent hypoxemia characterize OSA. Using transcranial Doppler to determine cerebral blood flow velocity, there is some evidence that apneas during sleep are associated with...

Although children commonly travel to high altitudes, their respiratory adaptation to hypoxia remains elusive. Therefore, in the present study respiratory inductive plethysmography, pulse oximetry (S(p,O(2))) and end-tidal CO(2) tension (P(ET,CO(2))) were recorded in 20 pre-pubertal children (aged 9-12 yrs) and their fathers during 1 night in Zurich (490 m) and 2 nights at the Swiss Jungfrau-Joc...

OBJECTIVE To determine the prevalence of sleep disordered breathing within a United Kingdom heart failure population. SUBJECTS 104 patients and 21 matched normal volunteers. METHODS Overnight home pulse oximetry with simultaneous ECG recording in the patient group; daytime sleepiness was assessed using the Epworth sleepiness scale (ESS); 41 patients underwent polysomnography to assess the v...

Sudden unexplained nocturnal death syndrome (SUNDS) remains an autopsy negative disorder with unclear etiology. Vinculin (VCL) was linked to sudden arrhythmia death in VCL knockout mice prior to the appearance of cardiomyopathy. We hypothesized VCL mutations underlie risk for SUNDS. A rare heterozygous variant VCL-M94I was found in a SUNDS victim who suffered sudden nocturnal tachypnea and lack...

Obstructive sleep apnoea syndrome (OSAS) causes nocturnal chronic intermittent hypoxia (IH) that contributes to excess cardiovascular morbidity. To explore the consequences of IH, we used our recently developed model of nocturnal IH in healthy humans to characterise the profile of this blood pressure increase, to determine if it is sustained and to explore potential physiological mechanisms. We...