2017 HRS/EHRA/ECAS/APHRS/SOLAECE expert consensus statement on catheter and surgical ablation of atrial fibrillation: executive summary.

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Effect of mild hyperglycemia on autonomic function in obstructive sleep apnea

Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) has been hypothesized to cause a hypersympathetic state, which may be the mechanism for the increased incidence of cardiovascular disease in OSA. However, there is a high prevalence of hyperglycemia in OSA patients which may also contribute to autonomic dysfunction. Thirty-five patients with OSA and eleven controls with average body-mass index (BMI) of 32.0 ± 4.6 underwent polysomnography, glucose tolerance testing, autonomic function tests, lying and standing catecholamines, overnight urine collection, and baseline ECG and continuous blood pressure measurements for spectral analysis. A linear regression model adjusting for age and BMI was used to analyze spectral data, other outcome measures were analyzed with Kruskal-Wallis test. Twenty-three OSA patients and two control patients had hyperglycemia (based on 2001 American Diabetes Association criteria). AHI correlated with total power and low frequency (LF) power (r=0.138, 0.177, p=0.031; and r= 0.013) but not with the LF/high frequency (HF) ratio (p=0.589). Glucose negatively correlated with LF systolic power (r=-0.171, p=0.038) but not AHI (p=0.586) and was marginally associated with pnn50, total power, LF, and HF power (p ranged from 0.07 to 0.08). These data suggest that patients with OSA and mild hyperglycemia have a trend towards lower heart rate variability and sympathetic tone. Hyperglycemia is an important confounder and should be evaluated in studies of OSA and autonomic function