Table 2.
Baseline characteristics of AF patients with and without OSA (AHI ≥ 5/h)
| Characteristic | N (%) or mean ± SD | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mean (SD) or n (%) n = 98 | AHI < 5/h n = 36 | AHI ≥ 5/h n = 62 | p value | |
| General demographics | ||||
| Recruitment stream: ER | 54 (55.1) | 19 (52.8) | 35 (56.5) | 0.834 |
| Age (years) | 61.5 ± 11.6 | 58.9 ± 12.5 | 63.0 ± 10.8 | 0.098 |
| Male | 65 (66.3) | 19 (52.8) | 46 (74.2) | 0.045 |
| Ethnicity: Caucasian | 91 (92.9) | 34 (94.4) | 57 (91.9) | 0.384 |
| Phenotypic characteristics | ||||
| BMI (kg/m2) | 27.1 ± 4.3 | 24.7 ± 3.5 | 28.5 ± 4.2 | < 0.001 |
| Neck circumference (cm) | 40.0 ± 4.9 | 38.8 ± 4.7 | 40.7 ± 4.9 | 0.065 |
| Modified Mallampati score | 2.7 ± 0.9 | 2.4 ± 0.9 | 2.8 ± 0.8 | 0.028 |
| Co-morbidities/AF risk factors (n = 99) | ||||
| Alcohol excess (≥ 10 SD/week), n = 105 | 21 (21.4) | 12 (33.3) | 11 (17.8) | 0.136 |
| Thyroid disease | 16 (16.3) | 11 (30.6) | 5 (8.1) | 0.009 |
| Family history of AF | 29 (29.6) | 13 (36.1) | 16 (25.8) | 0.203 |
| Mod-severe MS/prosthetic heart valve | 3 (3.0) | 2 (2.9) | 1 (3.1) | 0.865 |
| Hypertension | 38 (38.8) | 8 (22.2) | 31 (50.0) | 0.010 |
| Diabetes | 4 (4.1) | 2 (5.6) | 3 (4.8) | 0.876 |
| IHD | 4 (4.1) | 1 (2.8) | 3 (8.3) | 0.619 |
| CCF | 18 (18.4) | 5 (13.8) | 13 (21.0) | 0.431 |
| Cerebrovascular disease | 2 (2.0) | 0 (0) | 2 (3.2) | 0.530 |
| Peripheral vascular disease | 3 (3.1) | 3 (8.3) | 0 (0) | 0.047 |
| CHA2DS2-Vasc score | 1.6 ± 1.3 | 1.4 ± 1.2 | 1.7 ± 1.4 | 0.270 |
| Anti-coagulant therapy | 78 (79.6) | 30 (83.3) | 49 (79.0) | 0.792 |
| AF characteristics | ||||
| Paroxysmal | 90 (91.8) | 36 (100.0) | 57 (91.9) | 0.080 |
| High burden (≥ 10 episodes AF last 12 M) | 31 (31.6) | 8 (22.2) | 23 (37.1) | 0.039 |
| Prior PVI (number) | 0.4 ± 0.6 | 0.33 ± 0.05 | 0.40 ± 0.64 | 0.570 |
| Prior cardioversion (number) | 1.0 ± 1.5 | 0.64 ± 1.18 | 1.16 ± 1.57 | 0.086 |
| Anti-arrhythmic therapy | ||||
| Prescribed anti-arrhythmic medication? | 78 (79.6) | 30 (83.3) | 50 (80.6) | 0.794 |
| Number of anti-arrhythmic medications | 1.05 (0.6) | 1.06 (0.63) | 1.06 (0.67) | 0.948 |
| Class 1 anti-arrhythmic | 29 (29.6) | 11 (30.6) | 18 (29.0) | 0.873 |
| Class 2 anti-arrhythmic | 30 (30.6) | 11 (30.6) | 19 (30.6) | 0.993 |
| Class 3 anti-arrhythmic | 28 (28.6) | 9 (0.25) | 19 (30.6) | 0.646 |
| Class 4 anti-arrhythmic | 9 (9.2) | 3 (8.3) | 6 (9.7) | 0.824 |
| Class 5 anti-arrhythmic | 3 (3.1) | 1 (2.8) | 2 (3.2) | 0.901 |
| Echocardiographic parameters (n = 74) | ||||
| Cardiac ejection fraction (%) | 57.1 ± 8.7 | 59.6 ± 1.1 | 55.5 ± 9.7 | 0.027 |
| Left atrial diameter (cm) (n = 53) | 4.1 ± 6.3 | 3.9 ± 0.5 | 4.2 ± 0.7 | 0.105 |
| Left atrial area (cm2) (n = 46) | 24.2 ± 5.2 | 22.3 ± 4.5 | 25.5 ± 5.3 | 0.032 |
| OSA symptoms | ||||
| ESS | 6.2 ± 3.4 | 5.7 ± 3.8 | 6.4 ± 3.1 | 0.349 |
| Self-reported snoring | 64 (65.3) | 18 (50.0) | 46 (74.2) | 0.027 |
| Sleep parameters from PSG | ||||
| AHI (/h) | 13.8 ± 15.9 | 1.7 ± 1.4 | 20.8 ± 16.3 | < 0.001 |
| ODI (/h) | 7.4 ± 10.9 | 0.8 ± 1.5 | 11.2 ± 12.2 | < 0.001 |
| CAI (/h) | 0.6 ± 1.5 | 0.1 ± 1.2 | 0.8 ± 1.8 | 0.018 |
| AI (/h) | 2.4 ± 5.3 | 0.2 ± 0.3 | 3.7 ± 6.3 | < 0.001 |
| HI (/h) | 11.4 ± 13.2 | 1.5 ± 1.4 | 17.1 ± 13.8 | < 0.001 |
| Presence of arrhythmia on PSG | ||||
| AF (% of total beats) | 6.2 ± 23.4 | 2.9 ± 16.6 | 8.1 ± 26.4 | 0.283 |
| SVEB (% of total beats) | 0.6 ± 1.6 | 0.9 ± 2.0 | 0.5 ± 1.4 | 0.136 |
| VEB (% of total beats) | 0.5 ± 1.7 | 0.5 ± 1.4 | 0.4 ± 1.8 | 0.826 |
AF atrial fibrillation, AHI apnoea hypopnea index, BMI body mass index, CAI central apnoea index, CCF congestive cardiac failure, ER emergency room, ESS Epworth Sleepiness Scale, IHD ischaemic heart disease, MS mitral stenosis, ODI oxygen desaturation index, PVI pulmonary vein isolation procedure waitlist, SD standard drinks, SVE supraventricular ectopic beats, VE ventricular ectopic beats