Quality of life in patients with congestive heart failure and central sleep apnea

Carmona-Bernal, Carmen; Ruiz-García, Aránzazu; Villa-Gil, Manuel; Sánchez-Armengol, Angeles; Quintana-Gallego, Esther; Ortega-Ruiz, Francisco; Barón-Esquivias, Gonzalo; Capote, Francisco

doi:10.1016/j.sleep.2007.11.008

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Volume 9, Issue 6 , Pages 646-651, August 2008

Quality of life in patients with congestive heart failure and central sleep apnea☆

Carmen Carmona-Bernal
- Respiratory Disease Medical-Surgery Unit, University Hospital Virgen del Rocío, Sevilla, Spain
- Corresponding author. Tel./fax: +34 95 5012191.
Aránzazu Ruiz-García
- Respiratory Disease Medical-Surgery Unit, University Hospital Virgen del Rocío, Sevilla, Spain
Manuel Villa-Gil
- Cardiology Department, University Hospital Virgen del Rocío, Sevilla, Spain
Angeles Sánchez-Armengol
- Respiratory Disease Medical-Surgery Unit, University Hospital Virgen del Rocío, Sevilla, Spain
Esther Quintana-Gallego
- Respiratory Disease Medical-Surgery Unit, University Hospital Virgen del Rocío, Sevilla, Spain
Francisco Ortega-Ruiz
- Respiratory Disease Medical-Surgery Unit, University Hospital Virgen del Rocío, Sevilla, Spain
Gonzalo Barón-Esquivias
- Cardiology Department, University Hospital Virgen del Rocío, Sevilla, Spain
Francisco Capote
- Respiratory Disease Medical-Surgery Unit, University Hospital Virgen del Rocío, Sevilla, Spain

Received 13 August 2007; received in revised form 26 September 2007; accepted 13 November 2007.

Abstract

Objective

To assess the impact of Cheyne-Stoke respiration-central sleep apnea (CSR-CSA) on quality of life (QOL) in patients with congestive heart failure (CHF). QOL was established using the MLHFQ (Minnesota Living with Heart Failure Questionnaire), and the FOSQ (Functional Outcomes of Sleep Questionnaire).

Methods

We examined 90 patients with CHF. The diagnosis of CSR-CSA was performed by polysomnography. We established a correlation between the apnea–hypopnea index (AHI) and the MLHFQ and FOSQ scores.

Results

Five patients were excluded (obstructive sleep apnea). Of the 85 remaining patients, 25 presented CSR-CSA. The mean MLHFQ score was higher in patients with CHF and CSR-CSA (25.8±2.97 vs. 16.6±2.05; p=0.01), and showed a significant yet moderate correlation with the AHI. A lower mean FOSQ score was obtained for the group of patients with CHF and CSR-CSA (78.4±4.31 vs. 88.47±2.4; p=0.03), showing weak negative correlation with the AHI.

Conclusion

According to the MLHFQ scores, it seems that CHF patients with CSR-CSA have a worse QOL than those with CHF alone. Although this could be attributable to a greater impairment of heart function in the former group, the FOSQ scores indicate some influence of their sleep disorder on the impairment of QOL.

Keywords: Congestive heart failure, Central sleep apnea, Minnesota living with heart failure questionnaire, Functional outcomes of sleep questionnaire