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News
Sleep apnea dramatically raises AFib risk in dialysis patients. A Finnish real-world study found that peritoneal dialysis patients with sleep apnea face more than three times the risk of developing new-onset atrial fibrillation — and for those over 60, that risk jumps even higher. The findings highlight sleep apnea as a critical, underappreciated cardiac risk factor in this vulnerable population.
A real-world Finnish study has found that sleep apnea is independently associated with a more than threefold increased risk of new-onset atrial fibrillation (AFib) in patients on maintenance peritoneal dialysis (PD). The study, published in BMC Nephrology, tracked 401 PD patients over a median follow-up of 1.6 years and found that 13.6% of those without prior AFib developed the condition during dialysis.
The risk was especially pronounced in older patients — those over 60 with sleep apnea faced a 5.5-fold increased risk of new-onset AFib. Increasing age and coronary artery disease were also independently linked to higher AFib risk. Notably, new-onset AFib during PD was not significantly associated with stroke or mortality in this cohort.
By the Numbers:
Why it matters: Peritoneal dialysis patients already carry significant cardiovascular burden. This study flags sleep apnea — a treatable condition — as a major, independent driver of AFib in this group, suggesting that routine screening and management of sleep apnea could be a meaningful strategy to reduce cardiac complications in dialysis care.
