STUDY OBJECTIVE: The aims of this study were to (1) explore the incidence of 
right-sided heart dysfunction (RHD) and STOP-Bang questionnaire responses 
consistent with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) and (2) assess the relationship 
between patients with STOP-Bang questionnaire responses consistent with OSA and 
echocardiographic findings suggestive of RHD.
DESIGN: Observational study.
SETTING: Tertiary academic center preoperative clinic.
PATIENTS: Two hundred patients presenting for elective surgery to the University 
of Utah preoperative clinic.
INTERVENTION: Abbreviated transthoracic right-sided echocardiogram and STOP-Bang 
questionnaire.
MEASUREMENTS: Tricuspid annular plane systolic excursion, tissue Doppler-derived 
tricuspid lateral annular systolic velocity (S'), and the tricuspid inflow E 
wave to tricuspid annular tissue Doppler e' wave ratio (E/e') for the presence 
of RHD, as well as responses to STOP-Bang questionnaire.
MAIN RESULTS: A total of 140 echocardiograms were analyzed after exclusion of 
participants with incomplete STOP-Bang questionnaires and inadequate images. 
Thirty-five patients (25%) reported 5 or more positive responses to the 
STOP-Bang questionnaire. Forty-six patients (35%) had abnormal right-sided heart 
measurements. Of the 35 patients with STOP-Bang scores 5 or greater, 11 (31%) 
had evidence of RHD. No correlation was observed between STOP-Bang scores and 
the echocardiography metrics of RHD.
CONCLUSIONS: This preliminary study suggests that there are numerous sources of 
RHD, among one of which is sleep apnea, and/or the STOP-Bang questionnaire is 
not a sensitive tool for predicting RHD. We conclude that although the STOP-Bang 
questionnaire is easy to implement in a preoperative clinical setting, it is not 
useful in identifying patients at risk for RHD.