Role of sleep disorders in patients with cardiovascular disease: A systematic review

In compliance with Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses, we conducted this systemic review on the prevalence, mechanism, and therapy of sleep disorder in patients with cardiovascular disease (CVD). After searching PubMed and Embase, 78 articles were selected for this review. This review discusses the bidirectional relationship between CVD and sleep disorders. Sleep impairment is highly prevalent in patients with CVD and mainly involves insomnia and sleep-breathing disorders. Several valuable biomarkers could be implicated in predicting sleep disorders in CVD patients, such as placental growth factor, vascular endothelial growth factor family, high sensitivity C-reactive protein, endoglin, fms-like tyrosine kinase-1, plasminogen activator inhibitor-1, erythropoietin. Moreover, non-drug therapies, namely physical exercise, cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia (CBT-I), and continuous positive airway pressure benefit the prognosis of patients with CVD. In conclusion, this study highlights the importance of sleep quality, which is responsible for long- and short-term cardiac outcomes in patients with CVD.