Abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) is a potentially life-threatening condition that may be exacerbated by Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA) which has been verified as an independent causal factor in the pathogenesis of hypertension and vascular dysfunction. More specifically, several pathomechanisms have been suggested to account for the potential adverse effect of OSA on AAA: The intrathoracic…

How OSA increase the risk of bradyarrytmias Bradycardia is defined by the American Heart Association as a heart rate of less than 60 beats per minute (BPM) but adds that what’s “too slow” depends on various factors such as age, physical fitness and physiological condition. During sleep for example, the parasympathetic tone predominates (as NREM…

Patent Foramen Ovale (PFO) occurs in 20-25% of the general population.  Most people with PFO are not symptomatic, and problems ordinarily arise only when the blood-flow’s directionality between the chambers is from the right atrium to the left atrium, a condition known as right to left shunting (RLS). Such right-to-left atrial shunting across the “open…

Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is a common condition, with multiple potential neurocognitive, cardiovascular, and metabolic consequences. Efficacious treatment is available, and the diagnosis procedure and its availability keep improving. The use of home sleep apnea testing (HSAT), also known as portable monitoring (PM), for the diagnosis of OSA is continuing to grow as a viable…

Percutaneous Coronary Intervention (PCI) is nowadays part of standard therapy in patients with symptomatic Coronary Artery Disease (CAD). However, the long-term cardiovascular outcomes after this procedure remain suboptimal1, and researchers are still investigating which patient characteristics effect the post-PCI cardiovascular risks. In the past decade, multiple observational studies have examined the association between the presence…

Home Sleep Apnea Tests (HSAT) have increased in utilization and based on recent estimates amount to about a third of all sleep apnea tests due to their cost effectiveness and accessibility in comparison to in lab, attend Polysomnography testing.  An HSAT is a preference for many patients since they can take the test at home…

Heart failure (HF) is a chronic, progressive condition in which the heart muscle is weakened and cannot pump enough blood to meet the body’s needs for blood and oxygen. Common symptoms include shortness of breath, coughing, excessive tiredness and leg swelling. In spite of continuous improvement of pharmacological and device therapy, HF remains a major…

The Heart Rhythm Society’s 39th Annual Scientific Sessions was held last month in Boston. More than 10,000 of the world’s Electrophysiologists participated and discussed latest developments in the study of heart rhythm disorders. Here are some notable research presented about expressing the increasingly acknowledged relationship between arrhythmias and sleep disordered breathing (SDB): Linz and colleagues…

Atrial Fibrillation (AFib) is the most common source for abnormal heart rhythm, affecting 33.5 million people worldwide. AFib is caused by disorganized electrical signals, which make the heart’s two upper chambers -called the atria – to quiver, instead of contracting properly. There are numerous risk factors for developing AFib. A relatively new defined risk factor…

Stroke, sometimes referred to as a “brain attack”, is a medical emergency and a leading cause of death around the world, occurring when the blood supply to a part of the brain is interrupted or reduced, depriving brain tissue of oxygen and nutrients.