All patients who meet all the inclusion criteria and none of the exclusion will have a
Stop-Bang questionnaire to define the risk of having a SAHS The assessment of results
classifies people at high, intermediate or low risk of SAHS. Low-risk patients will
follow conventional management according to the usual criteria of the Arrhythmia Unit.
Patients with high or intermediate-risk will be given a Kardia© recorder and they will be
instructed to obtain records of their cardiac rhythm every 5 days (at any time) and
whenever the symptoms are suggestived of arrhythmia. This allows estimating arrhythmic
load baseline in these patients.
They will also will be given a 7-channel home respiratory polygraphy (with pulse oximetry
record, naso-buccal air flow through nasal cannula and thermistor, snoring,
thoracoabdominal movements and electrocardiogram). The day after conducting the home
polygraphic record, the patient will be evaluated in the Pneumology Outpatient
Department, where risk factors, symptoms and Epworth's sleepiness scale will be assessed,
the results of the cardiorespiratory polygraphic record, interpreted by Pneumology
Service will be given , and based on the above, the diagnosis of SAHS will be determined.
Those patients diagnosed with SAHS will be treated in the Pneumology Service according to
usual practice (dietary hygienic measures, CPAP, etc.).
During all this time, patients will continue using their rhythm recorders as previously.
The overall effect of SAHS treatment on AF recurrences (comparison of arrhythmic load in
the previous 3 months with that of the 3 months post-treatment) will be evaluated.
After 3 months of starting the treatment, a follow-up respiratory polygraphy will be
carried out, where the relationship between the changes in AHI and desaturation index as
well as changes in arrhythmic load will be evaluated.
Once the follow-up respiratory polygraphy is performed, the indication of AF ablation
will be reassessed. Patients who continue with symptomatic recurrences of AF refractory
to antiarrhythmics will undergo ablation.
It will be analyzed that proportion of patients initially candidates for ablation cease
to fulfill conditions for this by a better control of recurrences and "leave the waiting
list". Likewise, the results of the ablation of the cohort of patients diagnosed with
SAHS and the moderate or high-risk cohort of SAHS, but with negative polygraphy and
diagnosis, will be compared.
The arrhythmic load after AF ablation will be analysed, during the blinding period (3
months post-ablation) and one year after the ablation. Patients will continue their SAHS
treatment according to the usual practice of the Pneumology Service.
