Associations between Cardioembolic Stroke and Obstructive Sleep Apnea

Conclusions:There appears to be a strong association between obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) and cardioembolic (CE) stroke. In patients with OSA presenting with cryptogenic stroke, high clinical suspicion for CE is warranted. This may lead to consideration of diagnostic studies to identify CE risk factors such as paroxysmal atrial fibrillation (AF). CE strokes are more common in patients with OSA even after adjusting for AF. This finding may reflect a high rate of occult paroxysmal AF in this population; alternatively, OSA may lead to CE strokes through mechanisms independent of AF.Citation:Lipford MC, Flemming KD, Calvin AD, Mandrekar J, Brown RD, Somers VK, Caples SM. Associations between cardioembolic stroke and obstructive sleep apnea. SLEEP 2015;38(11):1699–1705.
Source: Sleep - Category: Sleep Medicine Source Type: research