Sleep quality and sleep disorders in patients with acute coronary syndrome

Abstract

Abstract Funding Acknowledgements Type of funding sources: None. Background Sleep disorders have been considered risk factors for cardiovascular diseases, and poor sleep quality has become a common complaint in patients with coronary artery disease. Despite being a very common problem in these patients, it is not yet routinary studied and reflected in the clinical practice guidelines. Purpose To study the prevalence and type of sleep disorders in patients with acute coronary syndrome (ACS). Methods This study was a quantitative, descriptive, cross-sectional investigation. We included patients admitted for ACS (unstable angina, STEMI, NSTEMI, MINOCA,...) during the period from June to October 2022. The patients were interviewed, collecting the following information: Demographic variables (age, sex, marital status), classic cardiovascular risk factors (hypertension, diabetes mellitus, dyslipidemia), presence or absence of a diagnosis of Obstructive Sleep Apnoea (OSA), as well as treatment or not with CPAP, toxic habits (tobacco, alcohol, other drugs), need for sleep medication and sleep quality using the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), which is a validated self-rated questionnaire that assesses sleep quality and sleeps disturbance over the past month. Results We included 46 patients in our study. The mean age was 68,85 years (SD 11,88), 69,56% were male and 60,87% were married. The main reason for admission was NSTEMI. The distribution of risk factors was: High blood pressure 78,26%, Diabetes Mellitus 36,96%, dyslipidemia 63,04%, smoking 21,74%, drinking alcohol habitually 19,57%, and other drugs abuse 4,35%. The prevalence of OSA was 17,39%. Overall, the mean PSQI score of all participants was 8,98 (SD 4,73). The most affected sleep component was ‘Sleep disturbance’ (mean score 1,76/3), followed by ‘Sleep latency’ (1,5/3) and ‘Sleep duration’ (1,48/3). 34,78 % referred use of sleep medication and 41,30% had daytime dysfunction. Table 1 shows the results in PSQI related to the reason for hospitalization. Conclusions Sleep disorders and poor sleep quality are remarkably prevalent in our cohort of ACS patients, which could be considered as a possible added cardiovascular risk factor or risk modifier. We consider the proactive investigation of sleep disorders useful in clinical practice as we can develop strategies to improve sleep and reduce residual cardiovascular risk and quality of life.