Table 2 illustrates the data on the 28 patients with OSA. Twenty (71 percent) of the patients had RVH and four patients did not have RVH. Four patients were excluded because there was a discrepancy between-the two echocardiographers. The three patients with biventricular hypertrophy were included in this group of RVH patients, since LVH oftentimes is present in patients with systemic hypertension and OSA. Systemic hypertension is common in OSA patients.

There were no significant pulmonary function abnormalities in the OSA group except for those directly attributed to significant obesity. No other causes for restrictive disease were found in the OSA group. The AI for those patients with RVH was 26.7 ±23.7 and in those people without RVH the AI was 11.4 ±5.47. The duration of longest apnea for those patients with RVH was 51.95 ±22.97 s and in those without RVH it was 34.5 ±7.1 s. The average apnea time in those with RVH was 24.2 ±6.9 s and in those without RVH it was 17.5 ±3.7 s. The average oxygen saturation in those patients with RVH was 90.0    ±8.4 percent and in those without RVH it was 96.0    ± 1.4 percent. All of these variables were statistically significant with the p values listed in Table 2.
The RVT measurement was performed by two independent scorers. The average RVT measurement in the RVH group was 0.7 mm with a standard deviation of ±0.01 mm. The range was 0.6 to 0.9 mm with a median of 0.7 mm. The results of these two scorers’ measurements were analyzed and the results show a linearly related correlation of r = 0.87. The electrocardiograms of those in the RVH group showed no evidence of RVH.

Table 2—Statistical Analysis of Apneic Population (With and Without Apnea)