The link between sleep apnea and AFib

Yes there is a link. Cutting off the oxygen in sleep apnea results in shutting down the heart. This results in blood clots which lead to heart attacks and strokes. My father and his family had afib from sleep apnea which resulted in strokes and heart attacks which killed them. Years ago nobody realized the link so nobody was treated. My father unfortunately was diagnosed just before dieing from a stroke.

I have had sleep apnea for 5 years and faithfully wear a CPAC. A month ago I was diagnosed with AFIB.

Hi JMB73...thanks for responding. While I do not wish AFIB on anyone, I am still curious as to who has the combination? I am told a lot of people have AFIB but it is the silent type and until they go for a physical exam, they do not know it. Have a blessed Sunday!

CeCe55

My father had it with the silent afib. His doctor wanted a stress test done because of his family history of heart attacks and strokes in their 50s. The test showed the afib and get then had a quadruble bypass. My mother also had afib, but hers was from rheumatic fever as a child that caused scar tissue to block the heart valve. Afib can come from any stressor on the heart. It can also come from a faulty connection within the heart that regulates the heartbeat.

@cece55, @oregongirl, and others, I was diagnosed with sleep apnea last year and am now using a CPAP machine. Your question is timely because I see "possible atrial fibrillation" sometimes when I use my Kardia device to take an EKG. I had my doctor look at the EKG one time and forgot the explanation he gave but he said it wasn't A-Fib. Anyway I came across an article that supports the link between atrial fibrillation and sleep apnea.

Sleep Apnea Device Benefits Patients with AFib
-- https://www.cardiosmart.org/News-and-Events/2015/04/Sleep-Apnea-Device-Benefits-Patients-with-AFib

Hi John,

Thank you for finding that link. I read it and it helped me feel better about my AFib which is causing me some anxiety. It seems like in a couple of months, I went from minimal health problems to sleep apnea and afib and now blood thinners! I am a young 62 and have always exercised and eaten properly...hardly drink...now I am not even allowed a glass of preseco! horrors! My yoga instructor said that most likely, these things just didn't happen, but have been waiting to be found...I agree that these health problems have probably been going on several years. I am just thankful that they have now been discovered.

It has been exactly one month since I put on the mask and became a "bank robber". Only joking. I am finally getting comfortable and not fidgeting as much..or dreading....and am down to 5 and below episodes an hour. I pray my Afib stays under control as well.

Thank you again for everyone's support. Blessings!

My curiosity is that I have seen the articles about AFIB being helped by CPAP machines and the associated Sleep Apnea cures, but has anyone tested whether Sleep Apnea coincides with AFIB because AFIB is the cause? It's just a question and not a tested theory.

You have it backwards. The sleep apnea almost always results in AF, and not the other way around. This is well-established in the medical community and in the health insurance world where people co-pay for PAP machines with their insurers' help.

AF is not 'helped' by CPAP machines, but using a PAP machine suitable for the type of apnea you have, and using it regularly, will SLOW THE PROGRESSION of AF. You must accept that AF is a progressive disorder of the heart. It gets worse, or evolves into something nastier, with the mere passage of time. Not using PAP therapy will quite likely hasten the process.

You should meet with a good electro-physiologist as soon as you can. They're not all the same, not by a long shot. You want one who does 6-10 ablations each week, and who has been doing them for about 10 years or more. Experience really counts in the catheter ablation field. Further, you should hope to get ablated within a year of diagnosis, ideally, and certainly before you develop 'persistent' AF which is much more intractable and doesn't respond well to ablation. The sooner you get mechanical correction, and not drug deferral, the better off you'll be in the morbidity department.

I my cardio team.

Yes for mechanical correction vs drug deferral. I was fortunate that cardioversion worked the second time it was tried. My heart was restored to sinus rhythm. Next mechanical step was implanting a loop recorder and closely watching for arhythmias. Of course, the right heart meds are also essential.

I've greatly increased my activity and exercise under medical supervision. So far so good with this mechanical step. Again, with careful attention to the right meds over time.

There's more to say, but for now just hello to this community. Hale fellow well met, and all that.

I (heart emoji) my cardio team