Cor Vasa 2022, 64(6):622-627 | DOI: 10.33678/cor.2022.048

Cardiovascular autonomic control under obstructive sleep apnea combined with atrial fibrillation: Its role in pathogenesis and therapy

Mikhail V. Agaltsov, Nadezhda T. Obukhova, Anton R. Kiselev, Oxana M. Drapkina
National Medical Research Center for Therapy and Preventive Medicine, Moscow, Russia

This review examines in detail the mechanisms of cardiovascular autonomic control in the course of sleep, during single and multiple repetitive episodes of apnea, their role in pathogenesis of atrial fibrillation (AF), and also highlights the methods of autonomic modulation. In conditions of a single or chronic exposure to obstructive sleep apnea, cardiovascular autonomic dysfunction is one of the leading factors providing the possibility of AF development and recurrence. A combined effect on AF risk factors (their modification, use of continuous positive airway pressure therapy, drug therapy, and interventional techniques) can normalize the autonomic control and positively affect the substrate leading to the development and progression of arrhythmia.

Keywords: Atrial fibrillation, Cardiovascular autonomic control, Obstructive sleep apnea

Received: February 15, 2022; Revised: April 27, 2022; Accepted: April 28, 2022; Published: December 15, 2022  Show citation

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Agaltsov MV, Obukhova NT, Kiselev AR, Drapkina OM. Cardiovascular autonomic control under obstructive sleep apnea combined with atrial fibrillation: Its role in pathogenesis and therapy. Cor Vasa. 2022;64(6):622-627. doi: 10.33678/cor.2022.048.
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