Obstructive sleep apnea syndrome in cardiac rehabilitation patients

Introduction/Background While regular physical activity improves obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) syndrome in the general population, this was not assessed in post-myocardial infarction (MI) patients in a rehabilitation setting (coronary artery disease, CAD). Objective We aimed to determine if cardiac rehabilitation may benefit post-MI patients in terms of OSA disease and associated autonomic nervous system (ANS) activity. Material and method Consecutive post-MI patients participating in the ambulatory cardiac rehabilitation program of St-Etienne University Hospital were included in this study. The apnea-hypopnea index calculated from ECG-derived respiration (AHIEDR) was obtained through nocturnal Holter ECG recordings. According to AHIEDR, patients were classified as normal, mild, moderate or severe OSA ( Results Out of the 105 CAD patients suffering OSA included (95 men, 55.2 ± 12.4 years), 100 had at least one cardiovascular risk factor (98%) and 51% had an ANS dysfunction. Surprisingly, 65% of these OSA patients were free of classical diurnal symptoms usually associated with sleep apnea. In response to cardiac rehabilitation, AHIEDR decreased significantly (−9.3 ± 9.5, P  Conclusion Severe OSA in CAD patients is significantly improved after 2 months of cardiopulmonary rehabilitation. Reviving ANS activity through physical activity might be a target for complementary therapy of OSA in CAD patients.