Sleep and breathing in congestive heart failure

Abstract

Heart failure (HF) is one of the most prevalent and costly diseases in the United States. Sleep apnea is now recognized as a common, yet underdiagnosed, comorbidity of HF. This article discusses the unique qualities that sleep apnea has when it occurs in HF and explains the underlying pathophysiology that illuminates why sleep apnea and HF frequently occur together. The authors provide an overview of the treatment options for sleep apnea in HF and discuss the relative efficacies of these treatments.

Keywords: BPAP; CPAP; Central sleep apnea; Cheyne-Stokes respiration; Heart failure; Obstructive sleep apnea; Sleep apnea; Sleep-disordered breathing.