Sleep-disordered breathing (SDB), which includes obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) 
as its most extreme variant, is characterized by intermittent episodes of 
partial or complete obstruction of the upper airway, leading to cessation of 
breathing while asleep. Cardiac arrhythmias are common problems in OSA patients, 
although the true prevalence and clinical relevance of cardiac arrhythmias 
remains to be determined. The presence and complexity of tachyarrhythmias and 
bradyarrhythmias may influence morbidity, mortality and quality of life for 
patients with OSA. Although the exact mechanisms underlying the link between OSA 
and cardiac arrhythmias are not well established, they could be some of the same 
proposed mechanisms relating OSA to different cardiovascular diseases, such as 
repetitive pharyngeal collapse during sleep, which leads to markedly reduced or 
absent airflow, followed by oxyhemoglobin desaturation, persistent inspiratory 
efforts against an occluded airway and termination by arousal from sleep. These 
mechanisms elicit a variety of autonomic, hemodynamic, humoral and 
neuroendocrine responses that evoke acute and chronic changes in cardiovascular 
function. However, despite substantial research effort, the goals of determining 
in advance which patients will respond most favorably to certain treatment 
options (such as continuous positive airway pressure, tracheostomy or 
cardioversion) and the developing alternative treatments remain largely elusive. 
Therefore, this literature review aims to summarize a broad array of the 
pathophysiological mechanisms underlying the relationship between OSA and 
cardiac arrhythmias and the extent of this association from an epidemiological 
perspective, thereby attempting to assess the effects of OSA treatment on the 
presence of cardiac arrhythmias.