Treatment of sleep apnoea early after myocardial infarction with adaptive servo-ventilation: a proof-of-concept randomised controlled trial.

Background: Sleep disordered breathing (SDB) has been associated with less myocardial salvage and smaller infarct size reduction after acute myocardial infarction (AMI). The Treatment of sleep apnoea Early After Myocardial infarction with Adaptive Servo-Ventilation (TEAM-ASV I) trial investigated the effects of adding adaptive servo-ventilation (ASV) for SDB to standard therapy on the myocardial salvage index (MSI) and change in infarct size within 12 weeks after AMI.

Methods: In this multicentre, randomised, open-label trial, patients with AMI and successful percutaneous coronary intervention within 24 h after symptom onset plus SDB (apnoea-hypopnoea index ≥15 events·h) were randomised to standard medical therapy alone (control) or plus ASV (starting 3.6±1.4 days post-AMI). The primary outcome was the MSI at 12 weeks post-AMI. Cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) imaging was performed at ≤5 days and 12 weeks after AMI.

Results: 76 individuals were enrolled from February 2014 to August 2020; 39 had complete CMR data for analysis of the primary end-point. The MSI was significantly higher in the ASV control group (difference 14.6% (95% CI 0.14-29.1%); p=0.048). At 12 weeks, absolute (6.6 (95% CI 4.8-8.5) 2.8 (95% CI 0.9-4.8) % of left ventricular mass; p=0.003) and relative (44 (95% CI 30-57) 21 (95% CI 6-35) % of baseline; p=0.013) reductions in infarct size were greater in the ASV control group. No serious treatment-related adverse events occurred.

Conclusions: Early treatment of SDB with ASV improved the MSI and decreased infarct size at 12 weeks after AMI. Larger randomised trials are required to confirm these findings.