EDITORIAL
Sleep apnoea and endothelial function
Does CPAP delay the development of cardiovascular disease in patients with obstructive sleep apnoea hypopnoea?
1 Sleep Disorders Program and Respiratory Division, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada
2 Cardiology Division, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada
Correspondence to:
Correspondence to:
Assistant Professor N T Ayas
Sleep Disorders Program and Respiratory Division, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada; najib.ayas@vch.ca
Large, long term, randomised clinical trials are needed to establish whether CPAP treatment of patients with OSAH has a cardiovascular benefit
Keywords: hypertension; cardiovascular disease; continuous positive airway pressure; obstructive sleep apnoea
| The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below. |
Obstructive sleep apnoea hypopnoea (OSAH) is a common under-recognised disorder characterised by recurrent upper airway collapse during sleep.1 These recurrent episodes of upper airway collapse lead to sleep fragmentation, oxyhaemoglobin desaturation, and excessive daytime sleepiness. OSAH also causes sustained activation of the sympathetic nervous system, systemic inflammation with increased levels of C-reactive protein (CRP) and interleukin 6,2 glucose intolerance, and endothelial dysfunction.3 Many of these physiological/biochemical abnormalities are implicated in the pathogenesis of cardiovascular disease (CVD). Indeed, there are compelling epidemiologic data implicating OSAH in the development of systemic hypertension, myocardial infarction, and cerebrovascular events.
OSAH is an independent risk factor for CVD. In a recent study from the Sleep Heart Health Cohort the prevalence of CVD (including myocardial infarction, angina, coronary revascularization, heart failure, stroke) was 1.42 times greater in patients with OSAH (apnoea hypopnoea index (AHI) >11 events/hour) than in those without OSAH
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Thorax 2006 61: 459.[Extract] [Full Text] [PDF]
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