Sympathetic activation in patients with heart failure and central sleep apnoea: is it friend or foe?

What is it about?

Heart failure is characterized by high sympathetic activation, and sleep disordered breathing (SDB) can further increase it. This study analyzed changes in muscle sympathetic nerve activity (MSNA) in heart failure patients on medical treatment or on medical treatment+Auto ServoVentilation (ASV), to assess whether resolution of central SDB decreased MSNA. The results of the study were negative, and decreased MSNA in the ASV group was associated with poor prognosis, suggesting that central SDB might reflect a compensatory rather than a detriimental mechanism.

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