[A study on the association of obstructive sleep apnea hypopnea syndrome with coronary atherosclerosis and coronary heart disease].

Objective: To investigate the association of obstructive sleep apnea hypopnea syndrome (OSAHS) with coronary atherosclerotic disease (CAD).
Methods: From March of 2005 to December of 2005, 82 subjects admitted into Department of Cardiology of The First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University were recruited. They were divided into three groups based on their nocturnal apnea hypopnea index (AHI) detected by examination of polysomnography (PSG): mild OSAHS group (5 < AHI < or = 20, 38 cases), moderate-to-severe group (AHI > 20, 20 cases) and control group (AHI < 5, 24 cases). Coronary artery angiography and Gensini Score for assessing the severity of coronary atherosclerosis were performed in all three groups.
Results: Compared with the control group, the apnea-hypopnea index (AHI) was significantly higher in OSAHS groups [10.9 (7.7 - 15.2), 29.3 (23.3 - 48.4) vs 2.9 (1.9 - 3.8)]. The minimal SpO(2) was significantly lower (84 +/- 9)%, (81 +/- 9)% in OSAHS groups than that in the control group (89 +/- 6)%. The incidence of CAD was significantly higher [66% (25/38) and 95% (19/20)] in OSAHS groups than in the control group [17% (4/24)]. The percentage of patients with single-coronary-vessel disease was 24% (9/38) in mild OSAHS group, 20% (4/20) in moderate-to-severe OSAHS group, and 17% (4/24) in control group. The patients with multi-coronary-vessel disease were 42% (16/38) in mild OSAHS group, 80% (16/20) in moderate-to-severe OSAHS group, and 12.5% (3/24) in control group. Gensini Score was significantly higher in moderate-to-severe OSAHS group than that in control group [35.0 (16.5 - 87.0), 1.0 (0.0 - 5.0)]. Moreover, a positive correlation was revealed between AHI and Gensini Score.
Conclusion: OSAHS may be a significant independent risk factor of coronary atherosclerosis and CAD and should be taken into account in CAD secondary prevention.