The effect of sleep apnea severity on cardiac autonomic activity during night time in obstructive sleep apnea patients

Abstract

CONTEXT AND OBJECTIVE: Impaired autonomic cardiac function is an important consequence of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). This impairment is mainly due to intermittent hypoxia episodes following apneas. However, the impact of apnea severity on autonomic cardiac function remains unclear. The aim of this study was to evaluate the relationship between the severity of sleep apnea and heart rate turbulence (HRT) and heart rate variability (HRV) in OSA. DESIGN AND SETTING: Observational cross-sectional study conducte…