A new study shows that patients with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) are more likely than those without OSA to have a family history of premature death due to coronary artery disease (CAD).
Researchers from Mayo Clinic College of Medicine in Rochester, MN, analyzed the relationship between OSA and premature death due to CAD by comparing the personal and family histories of 316 patients with OSA and 202 patients without OSA. Regardless of the patient?s own CAD status, there was a significant and independent association between OSA and family history of premature CAD mortality.
This study appears in the January issue of CHEST, the peer-reviewed journal of the American College of Chest Physicians.