Obstructive sleep apnea is associated with increased QT corrected interval dispersion: the effects of continuous positive airway pressure

Publication date: Available online 31 March 2017
Source:Brazilian Journal of Otorhinolaryngology
Author(s): Nagihan Bilal, Nursel Dikmen, Fulsen Bozkus, Aylin Sungur, Selman Sarica, İsrafil Orhan, Anil Samur
IntroductionSevere obstructive sleepapnea (OSA) is associated with increased QT corrected interval dispersion (QTcd) and continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) is thought to improve this arrhythmogenic marker.ObjectiveThe aim of the study was to determine the decrease of ratio of cardiovascular risk in patients with obstructive sleep apnea.MethodsThe study included 65 patients with severe OSA who had an apnea-hypopnea index (AHI) score of >30. Each patient underwent 12-channel electrocardiogram (ECG) monitoring and polysomnography. Patients with an AHI score of <5 were used as the control group. The control group also underwent ECG monitoring and polysomnography testing. The QTcd levels of both groups were calculated. Three months after CPAP treatment, ECG recordings were obtained from the 65 patients with severe OSA again, and their QTcd values were calculated.ResultsThere were 44 male and 21 female patients with severe OSA syndrome. The age, gender, body mass index, initial saturation, minimum saturation, average saturation, and desaturation index were determined in both groups. The QTc intervals of the OSA patients (62.48±16.29ms) were significantly higher (p=0.001) than those of the control group (29.72±6.30ms). There were statistically significant differences between the QTc values before and after the CPAP treatment, with pretreatment QTc intervals of 62.48±16.29ms and 3-month post-treatment values of 41.42±16.96ms (p=0.001). There was a positive and significant correlation between QTcd periods and the AHI and hypopnea index (HI) in OSA patients (p=0.001; r=0.71; p=0.001; r=0.679, respectively).ConclusionCPAP treatment reduced the QTcd in patients with severe OSA. In addition, shortening the QTcd periods in patients with severe OSA may reduce their risk of arrhythmias and cardiovascular disease.



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