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MAY 15, 2009--A Michigan Tech student has investigated a possible link between two serious medical conditions, atrial fibrillation and sleep apnea. As a senior, Wennie Paladino worked with a pioneering group of sleep apnea researchers at the Mayo Clinic, in Rochester, Minn. She studied 173 patients diagnosed with atrial fibrillation who had been referred to the clinic for sleep evaluation between 2003 and 2008. In healthy hearts, all four chambers work together to pump blood. During atrial fibrillation, the two upper chambers (the atria) beat chaotically and irregularly, out of coordination with the two lower chambers (the ventricles), causing a fast and irregular heartbeat. Atrial fibrillation can cause blood to pool in heart. Sometimes, clots form and travel to the brain or to coronary arteries, causing strokes or heart attacks. Atrial fibrillation can also disrupt the heartbeat in the ventricles, leading to an often-fatal form of heart attack. Paladino analyzed the results of the patients' sleep tests. Of the group, 124, or 72 percent, were diagnosed with the most common form of sleep-disordered breathing, sleep apnea. During sleep apnea, the tongue slides back in the mouth of the sleeping person, choking off normal airflow and lowering the amount of oxygen in the blood. People with sleep apnea can have their sleep interrupted dozens or even hundreds of times a night, leading to chronic exhaustion. "From my study, we found out that male patients with atrial fibrillation are at greater risk for sleep-disordered breathing, and that sleep-disordered breathing may not be linked to obesity," Paladino said. "That's the opposite of traditional ideas." However, she said, her study may not have taken into account all the key variables, including medication or other medical conditions. Obesity is linked to both atrial fibrillation and sleep apnea, Paladino said, but in her studies, she found no correlation between the patients' body mass index and the existence or severity of disordered breathing. "That was unexpected," she said. Paladino stresses that her study isn't conclusive and that more research is warranted. "But the main point is, if you have a sleep disorder, you should be checked for atrial fibrillation, and vice versa," she said. Paladino graduated May 2 summa cum laude with a BS in Clinical Laboratory Science. However, her experiences at the Mayo Clinic have inspired her to become a physician, and she now plans to apply to medical school. At the Mayo Clinic, Paladino worked with Drs. Sean Caples, Fatima Kuniyoshi and Virend Somers. Her poster mentor at Michigan Tech was Ronald Gratz, associate professor of biological sciences. Palandio credits her husband, Louis Paladino, for supporting her research and helping to make it possible; he also graduated in May, with an MS in Microbiology. |