PREVALENCE AND PROGNOSTIC IMPLICATIONS OF SLEEP DISORDERS IN PATIENTS WITH CHRONIC HEART FAILURE

OBJECTIVES. To evaluate the prevalence and prognostic implications of sleep disorders in patients with chronic heart failure treated in a hospital's Heart Failure Unit. METHOD. An observational, descriptive and prospective study. The study was carried out in Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau Heart Failure Unit, Barcelona. Participants consisted of patients arriving to the Unit for the first time between April and November 2014. An assessment of sleeping disorders was performed using the modified questionnaire Insomnia Severity Index(8,9). Patient's sociodemographic, clinical and pharmacological data was obtained from their medical history. Adverse events during follow-up, (hospitalization due to heart failure and/or cardiovascular death), were assessed. In the analysis, qualitative variables were described as percentages and quantitative variables as mean and standard deviations. RESULTS. The total sample consisted of 68 patients with a mean age of 68 +/- 12 years. 59 % of patients were male. The etiological cause of heart failure was: in 37 % of the cases non-ischemic, 40 % ischemic, 10 % valvular and 13 % presented other etiologies. Sleep disorders were present in 48.5 % of the total sample (33 patients). Patients with sleep disorders had a higher incidence of cardiovascular adverse effects during the follow-up: 21 % vs 0 %; p <0.05. CONCLUSIONS. The prevalence of sleep disorders is high in patients with heart failure and is associated with a worse clinical prognosis.