Atrial fibrillation and obstructive sleep apnea syndrome

The literature review on the connection between atrial fibrillation and obstructive sleep apnea syndrome has been made. The etiology of sleep apnea, the mechanism of night breath pauses and possible consequences of this disorder have been described. The statistical data related to the frequency of atrial fibrillation among sleep apnea patients were presented in this article. The evidence regarding possible mechanisms of pathogenetic relation between atrial fibrillation onset and sleep breathing disorders was described. Nowadays it is assumed that night desaturations, the increase of sympathetic tonus, obesity, cardiac pathology, the increase of general inflammatory markers connected with sleep breathing disorders are the factors which contribute to the arrhythmia in patients with apnea. In the review the modern data concerning influence of apnea on the course of atrial fibrillation and recurrence of the arrhythmia relapse after cardioversion have been presented. The positive impact of sleep apnea treatment on the progress of atrial fibrillation was noted as well. The literature analysis has shown that pathogenetic mechanisms characterizing the connection between atrial fibrillation and sleep apnea have not been completely defined. The amount of published studies relating to the influence of apnea on the progress and long-term results of atrial fibrillation treatment is insufficient. There are not enough data about the frequency of different forms of atrial fibrillation in patients with apnea. There are other issues which require further investigations.