VIDEO: Study identifies link between hypoxemia, atrial fibrillation

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – A study showed a stronger association between atrial fibrillation and hypoxemia measures vs. the apnea hypopnea index, which is commonly used in sleep studies, Catherine Heinzinger, DO, said at the SLEEP 2022 meeting.

“It shows that we really should be looking at the hypoxemia associated with sleep apnea when we’re talking about risk of cardiovascular outcomes and treatment efficacy and we should not just be focusing on lowering the [apnea hypopnea index] with treatment,” Cleveland Clinic’s Heinzinger said.