Positional Obstructive Sleep Apnea in Patients with Atrial Fibrillation

Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is a common, potentially modifiable condition implicated in the pathogenesis of atrial fibrillation (AF). The presence and severity of OSA is largely sleep position–dependent, yet there is high variability in positional dependence among patients with OSA. We investigated the prevalence of positional OSA (POSA) and examined associated factors in patients with AF. We recruited an equal number of patients with and without AF who underwent diagnostic polysomnography. Patients included had ≥ 120 min of total sleep time with 30 min of sleep in both supine and lateral positions. POSA was defined as an overall apnea hypopnea index (AHI) ≥ 5/h, supine AHI (sAHI) ≥ 5/h, and sAHI greater than twice the non-supine AHI. POSA prevalence was compared in patients with and without AF adjusting for age, sex, OSA severity, and heart failure. A total of patients (male: 56