While the longer-term Obstructive Sleep apnea (OSA)-related intermittent hypoxia (IH) leads to various comorbidities, it has become increasingly evident that OSA confers protective advantages during and after acute myocardial infarction (AMI). We hypothesized in patients who were admitted with acute MI, the presence of OSA is associated with lower in-hospital mortality compared to those without a prior diagnosis of OSA.

In this nationwide retrospective study utilizing Veterans Health Administration records, we included patients hospitalized for MI with a history of sleep disorders from 1999 to 2020. We divided patients into two cohorts: those with OSA and those without OSA. The primary outcome was in-hospital mortality during AMI hospitalization. We analyzed the data using logistic regression and calculated the odds ratio of in-hospital mortality.

Out of more than four million veterans with any sleep diagnosis, 76,359 patients were hospitalized with a diagnosis of AMI. We observed 30,116 with OSA (age, 64 ± 10 years; BMI, 33 ± 7 kg/m²) and 43,480 without OSA (age, 68 ± 12 years; BMI, 29 ± 6 kg/m²). The aOR of in-patient mortality (n = 333 (1.1%)) was lower in those with OSA (aOR, 0.43; 95% CI, 0.38 to 0.49) compared to without-OSA (n = 1,102, 2.5%). However, the OSA cohort had a higher proportion of the prolonged length of stay (28.1%).

Presence of OSA is associated with lower in-hospital mortality among patients admitted for AMI, after adjusting for various demographic and co-morbidity factors. This study highlights the complex relationship between OSA and cardiovascular health and highlights the need for further research in this area.