PRevalence, Persistence and prOgnostic ValuE of Sleep Apnea Syndrome in Acute Heart Failure

The prevalence of sleep-disordered breathing is common in patients with stable chronic heart failure (up to 83%). Basically, the SAS is divided into two categories: central SAS (CSAS) and obstructive SAS (OSAS). The two can coexist. In patients with CHF, the presence of SAS is associated with higher mortality. CHF is associated with a high rate of re-hospitalization and significant morbidity and mortality and is considered as a major medical and economic problem. To date, few studies have investigated the prevalence, severity, persistence and the role of SAS during cardiac decompensation. For different pathophysiological considerations, it is assumed that SAS is exacerbated during AHF. Therefore SAS is not conventionally screened during this phase. This assumption has been questioned recently by some studies which showed stability of the type of SAS and its severity between the decompensation episode and the stable HF. Our hypothesis is that SAS during an AHF episode of CHF will remain stable both in terms of severity and type at three months of decompensation. Thus early polygraphy may be reliable for identifying HF patients with SAS.