Mailbag

One of our reader, Jan, pointed out the following in response to a posting.

My own personal observation is that there is a lot of undiagnosed obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) in the obese. OSA could also explain some of the increased incidence of AF.
All of the patients that I have referred for sleep studies have had significant OSA. This suggests that I am not referring enough patients for evaluation.
From what I recall, CPAP does not change mortality, but does affect quality of life. Would be an interesting study to prospectively study pt's w/ OSA and follow those who use their CPAP routinely vs. those who don't and see if there is a difference in AF rates.

Thanks Jan,
I agree with you that some obese, short neck individuals are prone to sleep apnea, and this diagnosis is becoming more common. I am not certain whether sleep apnea is related to A Fib. Perhaps this is something you could tell us more about. In fact, we would be happy to make room for a guest post if you like.