The Evolving Link Between Sleep Apnea and Atrial Fibrillation

Dr. Kelly Arps, Dr. Naima Maqsood, and Dr. Sahi Allam discuss modifiable risk factors and lifestyle management of atrial fibrillation with Dr. Prash Sanders. Atrial fibrillation is becoming more prevalent across the world as people are living longer with cardiovascular disease. While much of our current focus lies on the pharmacological and procedural management of atrial fibrillation, several studies have shown that targeted reduction of risk factors, such as obesity, sleep apnea, hypertension, and alcohol use, can also significantly reduce atrial fibrillation burden and symptoms. Today, we discuss the data behind lifestyle management and why it is considered the “4th pillar” of atrial fibrillation treatment. We also explore ways to incorporate prevention strategies into our general cardiology and electrophysiology clinics to better serve the growing atrial fibrillation population. Audio editing for this episode was performed by CardioNerds Intern, Julia Marques Fernandes. 

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Pearls

1. More people have atrial fibrillation because it is being detected earlier using wearable technology, and patients are living longer with subclinical or clinical cardiovascular disease 

2. There are 3 components of atrial fibrillation: an electrical “trigger” + a susceptible substrate (due to age, sex, genetics) + “perpetuators” that cause the trigger to continue stimulating the substrate (lifestyle risk factors such as obesity, smoking, diabetes, etc.) 

3. Obesity is the highest attributable risk factor for atrial fibrillation. Treating obesity often helps to treat other risk factors, such as hypertension and sleep apnea. 

4. Counseling is patient-dependent. Most patients are unable to make major behavioral changes cold-turkey and will need to make small, incremental changes. 

5. Dr. Sanders’ tip: He tells his own patients that “atrial fibrillation is the body’s response to stress.” The key to treating atrial fibrillation is to control your underlying stressors – procedures and medications are simply band-aids that do not fix the root of the problem. 

Notes

Notes drafted by Dr. Allam.

1. How common is atrial fibrillation? 

• Atrial fibrillation is the most common sustained arrhythmia. Currently, an estimated 50-60 million individuals worldwide are estimated to have atrial fibrillation, or roughly 1 in 4 individuals over the age of 45.¹ 

• The rising global prevalence of atrial fibrillation can be attributed to the aging of the population, increased rates of obesity, and greater accumulation of cardiovascular risk factors and survival with clinical cardiovascular disease.² Atrial fibrillation is also being detected earlier through digital and wearable devices.² 

• Annually, we spend approximately $5,312 per adult on the management of atrial fibrillation in the United States.³ 

2. What is the underlying pathophysiology of atrial fibrillation? How do risk factors like sleep apnea or obesity “trigger” atrial fibrillation? 

• For atrial fibrillation to occur, there is an electrical “trigger”, a susceptible substrate (due to age, sex, genetics), and “perpetuators” that allow the trigger to continue stimulating the substrate.² 

1. 90% of electrical “triggers” come from the pulmonary veins 

2. “Perpetuators” influence how the autonomic nervous system interacts with the triggers and substrate to perpetuate atrial fibrillation. Sleep apnea, obesity, and other risk factors are the “perpetuators” 

3. Over time, as atrial fibrillation recurs, the substrate remodels to result in persistent atrial fibrillation. 

3. What are some of the risk factors for atrial fibrillation and what are the possible benefits of controlling them? 

• Reference 4 provides an excellent review of the individual risk factors 

•  Tobacco use 

4. Nicotine patches/gums and counseling are associated with successful nicotine cessation in RCTs.  

5. In the long term, nicotine itself can cause atrial fibrosis. However, it is safe to use patches and gums in the short term to abet cessation. 

• Obesity 

1. The highest attributable risk factor for atrial fibrillation. Treating obesity often helps to treat other risk factors, such as hypertension and sleep apnea 

2. In addition to regular exercise, reducing caloric intake can help combat obesity. Eating more fiber-laden food such as vegetables instead of carbohydrates, limiting portions, sugary drinks, and alcohol, and increasing fasting periods can all help decrease weight. 

3. GLP-1 agonists can significantly reduce obesity and improve both symptoms and mortality for patients with comorbid conditions, such as HFpEF. 

• Obstructive sleep apnea 

1. This is an evolving area of research with upcoming randomized trial data 

2. Sleep apnea is probably not a static condition. Our likelihood of having sleep apnea changes with how rested we are, how much we’ve exercised, or whether we’ve consumed alcohol, etc. The testing and treatment of the future will reflect the changeable nature of sleep apnea. 

3. Current data: 

1. In the atrial fibrillation ablation population, treatment of sleep apnea was associated with an improvement in time to arrhythmia recurrence.  

2. Another observational study from Norway, which included various patients who used dental sleep appliances, found no significant difference in atrial fibrillation between those who were treated for sleep apnea and those who were not. It was severely underpowered to detect a difference. 

• Caffeine 

1. There is no evidence to support cessation of caffeine in patients with atrial fibrillation 

2. For patients with bothersome palpitations, caffeine cessation can be tried if it improves their symptoms 

• Alcohol use 

1. Per data from the UK Biobank, a single drink of alcohol daily does not increase your risk for developing atrial fibrillation. However, multiple drinks per day will increase your risk. 

2. A proof-of-concept study showed that patients who abstained from alcohol for at least 6 months had complete resolution of atrial fibrillation. However, the dropout rate was very high as most patients could not completely abstain from alcohol 

3. Dr. Sanders recommends alcohol consumption of ≤ 3 drinks/week, which is the cutoff used in lifestyle management studies.  

• Heart Failure 

1. For patients with heart failure, the 4 pillars of heart failure management are also crucial to treating atrial fibrillation. SGLT2 inhibitors in particular are likely to confer benefits. 40-50% of patients in the SGLT2 inhibitor clinical trials had co-morbid atrial fibrillation. 

2. About half of patients undergoing atrial fibrillation ablation appear to have HFpEF based on their hemodynamics. 

4. Can atrial fibrillation be treated with only lifestyle modifications? 

• Potentially. This is an evolving area of research without much published data. Empirically, Dr. Sanders has noticed that in patients referred for atrial fibrillation ablation, aggressive lifestyle modifications result in 40% of them no longer requiring ablation. After a 10-year follow-up, 20% still do not require ablation. 

• However, ablation is still an effective modality to achieve rhythm control. It is also becoming a safer procedure owing to novel techniques, such as pulse field ablation.  

• In the future, we foresee most patients utilizing a combination of lifestyle modification and rhythm control strategies (ablation and/or medications) to control their atrial fibrillation. 

5. What are the benefits of exercise in patients with atrial fibrillation? How much exercise do you recommend to your patients? Also, on the other end of the spectrum, does participation in endurance sports paradoxically promote atrial fibrillation? 

• The ACTIVE-AF study tested whether an intensive aerobic exercise regimen, up to 210 minutes per day, is safe and effective in controlling atrial fibrillation. Intensive exercise was associated with a significant reduction in atrial fibrillation burden and symptoms as well as an increase in quality of life and maintenance of sinus rhythm.⁵  

• Endurance athletes do have an approximately 5-fold higher risk of atrial fibrillation compared to sedentary people.⁶ However, this occurs at very high levels of exercise, exceeding 4 hours per day. Low to moderate levels of exercise have been shown to reduce rates of atrial fibrillation.^4,5 

6. How should we counsel patients about lifestyle management? Are there any good resources to use? 

• Dr. Sanders’ tip: Counseling is patient-dependent. For the majority of patients, the key to behavioral change is to make incremental adjustments over time, accompanied by encouragement. Some patients respond well to continuous feedback from digital devices. We can also supplement pharmacological therapies, such as medications to assist with weight loss or tobacco/alcohol cessation, to behavioral counseling. 

• Risk factor modification should be the central pillar of atrial fibrillation management and reviewed early on with patients in their atrial fibrillation course. It may be beneficial to have clinic sessions specifically dedicated to lifestyle counseling, which can be run by a multidisciplinary team of electrophysiologists, general cardiologists, and nurse educators. 

7. How should we explain what atrial fibrillation is to our patients? 

• Dr. Sanders’ tip: He tells his own patients that “atrial fibrillation is the body’s response to stress. It occurs because the heart is not coping well with increased stress. Procedures and medications for atrial fibrillation are simply band-aids that do not fix the root of the problem, but controlling the risk factors contributing to increased stress will.”  

• He also emphasizes the increased stroke risk of atrial fibrillation. 

References

1. Linz D, Gawalko M, Betz K, Hendriks J, Lip G, Vinter N. Atrial fibrillation: epidemiology, screening and digital health. The Lancet Regional Health – Europe. 2024;37(100786). 

2. Joglar JA, Chung MK, Armbruster AL, et al. 2023 ACC/AHA/ACCP/HRS Guideline for the Diagnosis and Management of Atrial Fibrillation: A Report of the American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association Joint Committee on Clinical Practice Guidelines. Circulation. Jan 02 2024;149(1):e1-e156. 

3. Serpa F, Tale A, Zimetbaum P, Kramer D. Trends in health care expenditures and incremental health care cost in adults with atrial fibrillation in the United States. Heart Rhythm O2. 2025;6(1). 

4. Chung MK, Eckhardt LL, Chen LY, et al. Lifestyle and Risk Factor Modification for Reduction of Atrial Fibrillation: A Scientific Statement From the American Heart Association. Circulation. Apr 21 2020;141(16):e750-e772. doi:10.1161/CIR.0000000000000748 

5. Elliott AD, Verdicchio CV, Mahajan R, et al. An exercise and physical activity program in patients with atrial fibrillation. JACC: Clinical Electrophysiology. 2023;9(4):455-465. doi:10.1016/j.jacep.2022.12.002 

6. Atrial fibrillation in competitive athletes. American College of Cardiology. Accessed February 22, 2025. https://www.acc.org/Latest-in-Cardiology/Articles/2019/08/16/08/20/http%3a%2f%2fwww.acc.org%2fLatest-in-Cardiology%2fArticles%2f2019%2f08%2f16%2f08%2f20%2fAtrial-Fibrillation-in-Competitive-Athletes