Heart block in patients with sleep apnoea

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Abstract
To examine these seemingly discrepant results further we performed Holter monitoring in 239 consecutive patients diagnosed as having sleep apnoea (apnoea/hypopnoea index >10/h) using a validated ambulatory recording device based on the measurement of heart rate, Sao 2, snoring sound, and body position. Episodes of second and third degree atrioventricular (AV) block and/or sinus arrest of more than two seconds in duration occurred in 17 of the 239 patients.6 There was no significant difference in age between patients with and without heart block (mean (SD) 50.7 (12.8) versus 52.1 (9.8) years), but those with heart block were significantly more obese (38.7 (7.3) versus 30.7 (4.6)).