2019 Yale Sleep Symposium: "Sleep and the Heart"

This course is aimed at a broad audience that includes cardiologists, sleep providers, and primary care providers.

Overview

Sleep disorders are important and highly prevalent in the general population, with elevated rates among those with cardiovascular disease. Sleep disorders may impact heart failure, atrial fibrillation and coronary artery disease. Clinicians frequently encounter patients in whom a sleep disorder is suspected and must be equipped with the tools to approach for these patients, including when to order further testing and or consultation with a sleep specialist. Successful management of cardiovascular disorders may be improved by ensuring appropriate identification and management of comorbid sleep disorders.

This course is aimed at a broad audience that includes cardiologists, sleep providers, and primary care providers. It contains an overview of the relationship between cardiovascular disease and sleep disorders. Presenters will review the evidence linking sleep duration, sleep-disordered breathing (both obstructive and central sleep apnea), and insomnia to cardiac outcomes including heart failure, arrhythmias, and coronary artery disease. Information presented will highlight the controversy regarding the management of central sleep apnea in patients with chronic heart failure, strategies for improving adherence to positive airway pressure therapy among intolerant patients, and approaches for screening patients for sleep disorders that may be incorporated into their medical practice.

Objectives

1. Identify sleep breathing disorders that commonly affect patients with cardiac disease
2. Appreciate the impact of positive airway pressure therapy on cardiovascular disorders including heart failure, coronary artery disease and atrial fibrillation
3. Identify the role of sleep disordered breathing on pulmonary hypertension and right heart failure
4. Discuss the relationship between sleep duration and circadian disruption on cardiovascular disease
5. Assess patients at high risk for adverse perioperative outcomes and incorporate screening into their practice
6. Review the relationship between insomnia and heart failure including implications for patient prognosis and management strategies