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

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 fi brillation (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 modifi cation, 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. Klíčová slova: