Sleep apnea in CHF may be dangerously underdiagnosed

Using Medicare records from more than 30,000 beneficiaries with congestive heart failure, Javaheri et al suggest in this observational epidemiologic study that sleep apnea may be woefully overlooked and undertreated in people with CHF. The 2% of the cohort who were tested and treated for sleep apnea had one-third the 2-year mortality of their risk-matched peers who were never tested, in whom the prevalence of sleep apnea was estimated at 40%. AJRCCM 2011;183:539-546.