[The role of sleep apnea in the pathogenesis of cardio-pulmonary insufficiency in patients with chronic obstructive bronchitis].

Continuous registration of breath, ECG, O2 tension was carried out in sleeping chronic obstructive bronchitis (COB) patients (n-46). Sleep apnea was detected in 19 of them. It was found that signs of pulmonary insufficiency in association of COB and sleep apnea occur significantly earlier. No correlation was observed between the severity of bronchial obstruction and pathological sleep apnea. The discussion covers mechanisms of pulmonary and cardiac insufficiency onset in COB patients with sleep apnea, therapeutic responses to long-term oxygen treatment and introduction of artificial respiratory control.