How Sleep Apnea Affects AFib

Today we're gonna be talking about sleep apnea and how sleep apnea can affect a person's atrial fibrillation. So first of all what is sleep apnea? Sleep apnea is a sleep related disease where people basically stop breathing while they're sleeping. And during those periods which can last anywhere from just a few seconds to 15, 30 seconds, patient's oxygen levels also go down there in that period when they stop breathing. And people who have sleep apnea, they can actually stop breathing many times throughout the night.

15, 20, 50 times. It can happen many times where a patient stopped breathing overnight. Sleep apnea is usually diagnosed with a sleep study. Usually we'll go to a facility, have your sleeping monitor with a monitor to your sleeping... Your breathing pattern and also your oxygen levels to see if you have sleep apnea. So what is the association between sleep apnea and AFib? So there have been studies that have looked at this association and it's been shown that people who have sleep apnea are two to four fold more likely to be diagnosed with atrial fibrillation. So there is certainly an association between the two. And anybody who's been diagnosed with atrial fibrillation, undergoing evaluation for sleep apnea with a sleep study is certainly a very important screening tool for anybody who is diagnosed with atrial fibrillation.

Now, we know that there's an association between the two but does treating sleep apnea also help improve a person's AFib? And the answer to that is yes. There have been studies that have shown that managing sleep apnea can also help improve a person's AFib. There have been studies that have shown that managing sleep apnea using what's called CPAP. Where they put a heavy oxygen mask while a patient is breathing to help facilitate their breathing can improve a person's AFib by about 42% with a significant reduction of a model of person's AFib when the sleep apnea is being properly treated.

In addition, patients who have sleep apnea but are being properly treated with the CPAP machine have higher success rates with procedures such as cardioversions or ablations and are like more likely to have better success when their sleep apnea is properly treated. So there's certainly an association between the two but properly treating sleep apnea with the CPAP machine can make significant improvements for a person's atrial fibrillation. 

Comments

A-FIB VERSUS JUNCTIONAL RHYTHMS

. ATRIAL FIBRILLATION: On your rhythm strip, the two most important characteristics are: . 1) A rhythm that’s IRREGULARLY irregular (meaning there’s no way to predict the next beat) 2) No discernible P waves . In fact, if you notice an irregularly irregular rhythm and you’re having to convince yourself that you see P waves... it’s probably A-fib (multifocal atrial arrhythmias like WAP/MAT could fit the differential) . *In my opinion: Don’t get caught up in using fibrillation waves as an absolute criteria. Very fine A-fib can sometimes produce a near isoelectric line between beats. . JUNCTIONAL RHYTHMS: The pacemaker cells surrounding the AV junction are capable of initiating regular impulses but at a slightly slower natural rate than their sinus and atrial superiors. The heart is built this way so that when the pacemaker cells with the fastest intrinsic rates are in action, those below are suppressed and function primarily to pass along the impulse from above. . For these reasons, we s...

Zion Health’s Commitment to Sustainability: Healing Skin, Protecting the Planet

In a world increasingly aware of environmental challenges, Zion Health stands out as a beacon of eco-conscious skincare. Combining the natural power of healing clay with a deep commitment to sustainability, Zion Health goes beyond offering effective products; they’re dedicated to making a positive impact on the planet. Sustainability at the Core Zion Health’s sustainability initiatives are woven into every aspect of their operations. From ingredient sourcing to packaging, their approach is guided by a simple yet profound principle: care for the environment as much as they care for their customers’ skin. Eco-Friendly Ingredients The foundation of Zion Health’s products is calcium montmorillonite clay, a naturally occurring mineral rich in detoxifying and healing properties. By using clay and other plant-based ingredients, they minimize reliance on synthetic chemicals, reducing the environmental footprint of their formulations. S.T.E.M Recycling Program One of Zion Health’s standou...

What is The Cardiac Cycle ?

The cardiac cycle refers to the sequence of events that occur and repeat with each heartbeat. It can be divided into two main stages: Systole and diastole, each of which is divided into several small steps When systole and diastole are not specified otherwise refers to ventricular contraction and relaxation Respectively, Reminder Blood flows from low to low pressure Compression increases the pressure in a Chamber, while relaxation reduces the pressure. When the AVT valves open the anterior pressures are higher than the ventricular pressures and Off when the pressure gradient is reversed. Similarly, Semiluna valves open when ventricular pressure exceeds submerged /, pulmonary pressure And stop. If the opposite is true, The cycle was started by firing shots at the SA node, which encouraged the atria to lower . Learn here Atrial Fibrillation Treatment It is represented by p-waves in the ECG Shortly after the onset of the P-wave atrial contraction begins and increases the ...

Best Cardiologist in London

Search This Blog