Risk of stroke from sleep apnea in men and women

Abstract

Evaluation of: Redline S, Yenokyan G, Gottlieb D et al. Evaluation of obstructive sleep apnea hypopnea and incident stroke: The Sleep Heart Health Study. Am. J. Respir. Crit. Care Med. DOI: 10.1164/rccm.200911-1746OC (2010).

Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is a common sleep disorder, and research on the effects of sleep apnea is important to gain insight into how sleep affects health. Untreated OSA has been associated with important health consequences, such as an increased risk for hypertension, cardiovascular disease and diabetes. Previous studies have shown that OSA also represents a risk factor for stroke. The relationship between OSA and stroke is particularly relevant, as stroke is the second leading cause of death globally. The reviewed article presents new data from the Sleep Heart Health Study, a longitudinal cohort study, which shows an association between incident stroke and untreated OSA of varying severity for men and possibly more severe OSA for women. The study is discussed in the context of the current state of knowledge about OSA, in particular its health consequences, and the general limitations in conducting research with OSA patients.

Keywords::

• hypoxemia
• lung
• obstructive sleep apnea
• outcomes
• Sleep Heart Health Study
• stroke

Financial & competing interests disclosure

Atul Malhotra has received consulting and/or research grant income from Philips, Pfizer, Merck, Apnex, Itamar, SGS, SHC, Medtronic, Ethicon, Cephalon and Sepracor. Atul Malhotra is funded by the NIH and the AHA. Ina Djonlagic is funded by the American Sleep Medicine Foundation. The authors have no other relevant affiliations or financial involvement with any organization or entity with a financial interest in or financial conflict with the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript apart from those disclosed.

No writing assistance was utilized in the production of this manuscript.