174 Reverse atrial electrical remodeling induced by CPAP in patients with severe sleep apnea

Sleep apnea, cardiac arrhythmias, and conduction disorders

“…We recently postulated that SAPW would be useful to identify atrial electrical remodeling in patients with severe OSA and that treatment with C-PAP for 4 to 6 weeks may induce reverse atrial electrical remodeling. 19 The results of this study have shown that patients with severe OSA have a longer SAPW duration than controls (131.9 ± 10.4 vs 122.8 ± 10.5 milliseconds; P = .04) and that a significant reduction of the SAPW duration occurs after treatment with C-PAP (131.9 ± 10.4 to 126.2 ± 8.8 milliseconds; P b .001). 19 The shortening of SAPW duration and surface P-wave duration represents more rapid interatrial conduction and provides evidence for reverse atrial electrical remodeling.…”

“…19 The results of this study have shown that patients with severe OSA have a longer SAPW duration than controls (131.9 ± 10.4 vs 122.8 ± 10.5 milliseconds; P = .04) and that a significant reduction of the SAPW duration occurs after treatment with C-PAP (131.9 ± 10.4 to 126.2 ± 8.8 milliseconds; P b .001). 19 The shortening of SAPW duration and surface P-wave duration represents more rapid interatrial conduction and provides evidence for reverse atrial electrical remodeling. This may indicate an additional benefit of treating patients with C-PAP because this evidence suggests that C-PAP may improve the anatomical and electrical substrate for AF.…”

Sleep Apnea and Atrial Fibrillation; 2012 Update

“…The effects of CPAP in OSA patients may even extend as far as affecting the atrial electrical remodeling that is known to be associated with the disease [ 80 ]. It has been reported that there is an increase in maximum P-wave duration by up to 7.6 ms and an increase in P-wave dispersion (14.6 +/- 7.5 versus 8.9 +/- 3.1 ms, p < 0.001) in moderate-severe OSA patients compared to controls, highlighting the atrial electrical remodeling associated with the disease [ 55 ].…”