Prevalence and Impact of Central Sleep Apnea in Heart Failure

Sleep apnea is commonly found in patients with systolic heart failure, and recent studies strongly suggest that the prevalence of central sleep apnea remains high, in spite of the use of contemporary treatment of heart failure, including beta-blockers. Furthermore, it has been shown that central sleep apnea may contribute to mortality of heart failure patients. However, the impact of therapy for sleep apnea on survival of heart failure patients needs to be further determined.