Obstructive sleep apnea is associated with pulmonary artery thrombus load, disease severity, and survival in acute pulmonary embolism.

Introduction: Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) may have prothrombotic effects.

Objective: To investigate the effect of OSA on disease severity, pulmonary artery thrombus load, and prognosis in patients with acute pulmonary embolism (PE).

Methods: In 101 PE patients, disease severity was determined by the simplified PE severity index (sPESI) score, pulmonary artery thrombus load was quantified by the pulmonary artery obstruction index (PAOI), and sleep-disordered breathing was evaluated by nocturnal polygraphy.