The diagnostic yield of exercise stress testing as a screening tool for subclinical coronary artery disease in patients with moderate to severe obstructive sleep apnea.

STUDY OBJECTIVE

To address the yield of routine exercise stress testing as a screening tool for subclinical coronary artery disease (CAD) in patients with moderate to severe obstructive sleep apnea (OSA).

DESIGN AND SETTING

A cross-sectional study in a university hospital.

PARTICIPANTS

Of 380 consecutive patients with OSA, data from 206 subjects (mean apnea-hypopnea index [AHI] 41 ± 21 events/h) were studied; data from 78 with a history of CAD and 96 with mild OSA (AHI 5-15 events/h) were excluded.

MEASUREMENTS

Routine exercise stress testing.

RESULTS

Six subjects could not reach maximal exercise capacity. Of the remaining 200 patients, the results of exercise stress testing were normal in 189. Three had a positive stress test, with coronary angiography confirming the diagnosis of CAD. Eight patients had suspected positive findings on the stress test, but the results of the myocardial perfusion study were negative.

CONCLUSION

The prevalence of subclinical CAD in this selected population with OSA was 1.5%, which is not higher than that in a general population. Our results do not support the routine use of exercise stress testing in patients with moderate to severe OSA who do not have symptoms of CAD.