Obesity and Obstructive Sleep Apnea May Predict Atrial Fibrillation

by: AFAnswers.com staff

Obesity and Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA) are known to be closely linked. One detail previously unknown, however, was whether Obstructive Sleep Apnea was also a predictor of Atrial Fibrillation (AF) or whether the correlation between obstructive sleep apnea and AF was simply due to the link between obesity and OSA.

Researchers at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., have attempted to clarify some of the details surrounding the obesity-OSA-atrial fibrillation triangle. A study completed in late 2006 identified OSA and obesity as independent predictors of atrial fibrillation or atrial flutter for patients under the age of 65.11 More specifically, decreasing nocturnal oxygen saturation (the amount of oxygen in the bloodstream while a person sleeps), which occurs as a result of OSA, was identified as an independent predictor.

Furthermore, the study revealed that when both conditions are present, the risk of developing AF increases greatly. Previously established AF risk factors for individuals of any age include:

• Increasing age
• Hypertension
• Coronary artery disease
• Heart failure
• Smoking
• High body mass index

Implications of the Mayo Clinic study can be quite large. Findings suggest that the existence of OSA can strongly predict the development of AF over an approximate five-year time period. As a result, the study’s authors urge that these findings should have an impact on the way obese patients are cared for. The authors estimate that more than 25 million Americans have OSA, many of whom go undiagnosed.