Sleep Apnea Raises Stroke Risk

You’ve got sleep apnea if you stop breathing repeatedly during your sleep, sometimes hundreds of times during the night and often for a minute or longer. There are three distinct types of sleep apnea, but the result is the same. Sleep apnea is as common as diabetes, and affects more than 12 million people in the USA. It’s more common in men who are overweight and over 40.

A recent report has investigated a possible link between stroke and the most common type of sleep apnea, obstructive sleep apnea. Researchers did sleep lab studies in recent stroke victims, and found that 70% of them had obstructive sleep apnea, while in a matched set of people without a stroke only 18% had obstructive sleep apnea. It seems likely that lowered oxygen levels and changes in the blood flow to the brain may have predisposed the patients to stroke.

Sleep apnea is readily treatable. If you (or your sleeping partner) suspect you may have it, see your doctor, who may refer you to a sleep lab for definitive diagnosis. And if you do have it, remember that it’s worth taking care of.

Comments

[Robert Griffith]

A new report suggests that there is injury to the endothelium (the cells that line the blood vessels) in sleep apnea. The changes, which prevent proper dilatation of small arteries, are reversible when the apnea is treated for 8 weeks with CPAP. See : http://www.medpagetoday.com/tbprint.cfm?tbid=5816&topicid=153