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Sleep Disorders Linked to Arrhythmias

TUESDAY, June 23 (HealthDay News) -- Older men who have severe sleep-related breathing problems are at increased risk for abnormal heart rhythms, a U.S. study finds.

The study included 2,911 men who underwent sleep testing between 2003 and 2005. Those who had more episodes of paused or shallow breathing during sleep were more likely to have two types of arrhythmias, found Dr. Reena Mehra and colleagues at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine in Cleveland.

Obstructive sleep apnea -- which involves the partial or complete blockage of airways and is the most common type of sleep-related breathing disorder -- was associated with irregular heartbeats involving the lower chambers of the heart (ventricles). Central sleep apnea -- caused by a malfunction in brain signals that control breathing muscles -- was more strongly associated with irregular heart rhythms in the heart's upper chambers (atria).

The more severe a man's sleep-disordered breathing, the greater his risk for arrhythmia.