Sleep patterns in patients with acute coronary syndromes.

Background: Little is known about sleep quality in patients with acute coronary syndromes (ACS) admitted to the coronary care unit (CCU). The aim of this study was to assess nocturnal sleep in these patients, away from the CCU environment, and to evaluate potential connections with the disease process.

Methods: Twenty-two patients with first ever ACS, who were not on sedation or inotropes, underwent a full-night polysomnography (PSG) in our sleep disorders unit within 3 days of the ACS and follow-up PSGs 1 and 6 months later.

Results: PSG parameters showed a progressive improvement over the study period. There was a statistically significant increase in total sleep time (TST), sleep efficiency, slow wave sleep (SWS), and rapid eye movement (REM) sleep, while arousal index, wake after sleep onset (WASO) and sleep latency decreased. Six months after the acute event, sleep architecture was within the normal range.

Conclusions: Patients with ACS have marked alterations in sleep macro- and micro-architecture, which have a negative influence on sleep quality. The changes tend to disappear over time, suggesting a relationship with the acute phase of the underlying disease.