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Obstructive sleep apnea might trigger acute pulmonary embolism: results from a cohort study

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Abstract

Background

Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) might be an independent risk factor for acute pulmonary embolism (APE).

Aim of the study

A prospective cohort study was conducted to investigate if APE is sleep-related in untreated OSA syndrome or not.

Methods

206 APE patients were evaluated by portable monitoring and polysomnography. APE symptoms which caused an arousal from sleep or occurred within the first hour after wake-up were considered to be sleep-related.

Results

APE manifestation is significantly more often sleep-related in patients with moderate or severe OSA compared to subjects with an apnea–hypopnea index ≤15/h (p < 0.001). The relative risk of sleep-related APE increases with the severity of OSA.

Conclusions

OSA might trigger APE, possibly reflecting a pathophysiological relationship between these two conditions.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Cardiology, Respiratory Medicine and Intensive Care, Klinikum Augsburg, Ludwig-Maximilians University Munich, Stenglinstrasse 2, 86156, Augsburg, Germany

    T. M. Berghaus, A. Witkowska, T. Wagner, C. Faul, M. Schwaiblmair & W. von Scheidt

Authors
  1. T. M. Berghaus
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  2. A. Witkowska
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  3. T. Wagner
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  4. C. Faul
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  5. M. Schwaiblmair
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  6. W. von Scheidt
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to T. M. Berghaus.

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Ethical standards

The study was conducted with the approval of the Ethics Committee at the Ludwig-Maximilians University Munich (080-11). All study participants gave informed consent.

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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Berghaus, T.M., Witkowska, A., Wagner, T. et al. Obstructive sleep apnea might trigger acute pulmonary embolism: results from a cohort study. Clin Res Cardiol 105, 938–943 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00392-016-1002-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00392-016-1002-0

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