Central sleep apnea in chronic heart failure with hypoxemia - treatment efficacy and hemodynamic effects of three different treatment modalities: a case report

Abstract Background The optimal treatment for central sleep apnea (CSA) depends on the underlying pathophysiology and should consider the potential for hemodynamic impairment when using positive airway pressure devices. While the long-term effects on overall cardiovascular outcome have been investigated for different device settings, the immediate hemodynamic consequences are not well understood. This is mainly due to a lack of hemodynamic monitoring during routine polysomnographic assessment. The application of most monitoring devices is either restricted by their invasiveness, e.g. in thermodilution, or cannot be used continuously like in echocardiography. Impedance cardiography (ICG), however, enables physicians to implement a continuous non-invasive monitoring of different hemodynamic parameters which can be useful in various clinical scenarios. In sleep medicine, the hemodynamic effect of initiating positive airway pressure treatment in patients with pre-existing heart failure should be of special concern. Case presentation In this case report, we compare the efficacy of three different treatment modalities in a patient with CSA related to chronic heart failure considering the resolution of respiratory events on polysomnography (PSG). In addition, we outline the hemodynamic effects of each treatment device using ICG for non-invasive hemodynamic monitoring. Regarding the reduction of respiratory central events, long-term oxygen treatment (LTOT) and adaptive servoventilation (ASV) proved to be more efficient compared with automatic positive airway pressure (APAP). Hemodynamically, substantial differences of the cardiac performance were observed between the treatment devices. This especially applied to ASV which led to a pronounced drop in cardiac output. Conclusion Our case report indicates that treatment of CSA may induce significant changes of hemodynamic parameters which would remain undetected during routine polysomnographic assessment. We conclude that non-invasive hemodynamic monitoring may be considered when positive airway pressure treatment is initiated in patients at risk of hemodynamic impairment.