Study Links Sleep-Disordered Breathing and Heart Failure Risks

Dr. Sanjiv M. Narayan is a pioneering cardiologist who, in his career, has developed novel strategies for treating atrial fibrillation and improving patient outcomes. Among Dr. Sanjiv M. Narayan’s other areas of interest is sleep-disordered breathing, which is linked to conditions such as the stiffening of arterial walls and the increased risk of heart failure. 

The results of a recent study by researchers at Fukushima Medical University, published in ESC Heart Failure, a journal of the European Society of Cardiology, reinforced this link. The study showed a positive correlation between the severity of sleep-disordered breathing and arterial stiffness. 

The findings suggest that treatments of obstructive sleep apnea through the use of continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) devices and other technologies may have a positive impact on patient prognosis. 

As study coauthor Dr. Akiomi Yoshihisa described it, the effective use of CPAP may extend beyond the hypertension that it is currently confirmed to address and enable recovery among patients at risk of preserved ejection-fraction-linked heart failure.