Abstract:Objective To investigate sleep structure parameters which lead to the progression of cerebral infarction. Methods A total of 178 patients with acute cerebral infarction admitted to the Department of Neurology in our hospital from April 2013 to April 2015 were divided into progressive cerebral infarction group (observation group) and non-progressive cerebral infarction group (control group) according to the evolution of the disease.Polysomnography was completed within 2 days of admission. The total sleep time (TST), sleep latency (SL), nighttime awakening frequency (AN), sleep efficiency (SE), percentage of sleep stage S1, S2, S3, S4 in total sleep time, the percentage of rapid eye movement sleep (REMS) and REM latency (RL) etc were observed. By monitoring the mouth nasal airflow, blood oxygen saturation and snores, sleep apnea hypopnea index (AHI) was calculated. Results Compared to the control group, the REM phase sleep ratio decreased, and AHI significantly increased in the observation group (P < 0.05). Conclusions REM sleep ratio decreases and sleep apnea hypopnea index increases in progressive cerebral infarction. Sleep disorder may be the important indicator for progressive stroke.