Detection of obstructive sleep apnea in young patients suffering from coronary artery disease by performing portable polysomnography studies

Med J Armed Forces India. 2022 Oct;78(4):394-399. doi: 10.1016/j.mjafi.2020.06.005. Epub 2020 Aug 7.

Abstract

Background: Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is known to be an important contributory factor of coronary artery disease (CAD), but the extent of contribution of OSA in young patients suffering from CAD is not known. Thus, with an aim to detect OSA in young patients suffering from CAD by performing portable polysomnography (PSG), the present study was carried out at a tertiary care chest center.

Methods: A prospective study was carried out from June 2015 to June 2018, wherein 100 consecutive young (age less than 40 years), non-smoking patients with angiographically confirmed CAD, with no identifiable risk factors for cardiovascular diseases except obesity, were subjected to level 3 portable PSG studies.

Results: Of 100 patients with CAD, 80% had OSA (24% with mild OSA, 28% with moderate OSA, and 28% with severe OSA). Body weight and severity of OSA showed a significant correlation with a P-value of 0.033. SPSS software was used for statistical analysis. The categorical variables were compared using Fischer's exact test.

Conclusion: The study detected a significant number of young patients with angiographically confirmed CAD having OSA. A significant correlation was also observed between weight and severity of OSA, suggesting that overweight patients and patients with obesity have higher grades of OSA.

Keywords: Apnea hypopnea index; Body mass index; Coronary artery disease; Obstructive sleep apnea; Polysomnography.