The goal of this study is to identify whether genes that are known to lead to abnormal heart rhythms increase likelihood of death in the UK Biobank cohort. Whether these genes increase likelihood of death in patients with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) will also be evaluated. Patients with OSA are likely to have heart rhythm abnormalities during the cessation of breathing events during sleep that characterize OSA. We hypothesize that if these patients with OSA have also have a genetic susceptibility to heart rhythm abnormalities, they may be more likely to die. The study is retrospective in nature and we suspect all data analysis will be completed within 3 years of the project starting. Given the high prevalence of OSA and hearth rhythm abnormalities, our study has the potential to have a high public health impact by identifying patients at risk for death based on their genetic differences in genes associated with heart rhythm abnormalities.
