Is myocardial strain an early marker of systolic dysfunction in obstructive sleep apnoea? Findings from a meta-analysis of echocardiographic studies

GLS is impaired in patients with OSA (independently from hypertension), worsening progressively from mild to moderate and severe forms, thus allowing to identify subclinical alterations of the systolic function not captured by LVEF. Therefore, myocardial strain assessment should be implemented systematically in the OSA setting to timely detect systolic dysfunction.