Effects of Treating Sleep Apnea in Patients With Congestive Heart Failure

Exclusion Criteria

• •Decisionally impaired, cognitively impaired, or demented patient who has a surrogate, proxy, or guardian
• •Current Drug/Alcohol abuse as evidenced by a) positive urine toxicology screen for cocaine or amphetamines during current admission, b) positive blood alcohol level upon admission, or c) documentation by current providers of continued abuse of alcohol or drugs
• •Previous diagnosis of sleep apnea and on current treatment
• •Uncontrolled Ventricular Dysrhythmias; sustained episodes of ventricular tachycardia or ventricular fibrillation in the hospital
• •Evidence of current ischemia evidenced by elevated Troponin unrelated to Chronic Kidney Disease, or \< 6 weeks since Myocardial Infarction (MI)
• •Palliative care or Life expectancy \< 6 months
• •Isolated Cor Pulmonale - predominantly right ventricular dysfunction, Right Ventricular Systolic Pressure (RVSP) \>50 and/or on the following medications for pulmonary hypertension: sildenafil (Viagra®), tadalafil (Adcirca®, Cialis®), IV or sub-cutaneous (SC) treprostinil (Remodulin®; Tyvaso™), ambrisentan (Letairis®), bosentan (Tracleer®), IV epoprostenol, inhaled iloprost (Ventavis®)
• •On 5 liters or greater of O2
• •Self-Pay Status
• •Known Pregnancy
• •Vulnerable Subjects such as prisoners, decisionally impaired/comatose individuals, terminally ill patients, UF/Shands/Veterans Administration (VA) staff, UF students