Johns Hopkins Health Alert
Sleep Apnea Linked to Increased Stroke Risk
Middle-aged and older men with untreated obstructive sleep apnea have more than double the risk of experiencing an ischemic stroke when compared with their counterparts who don't have obstructive sleep apnea, a recent study finds.
Researchers from the Sleep Heart Health Study (SHHS) studied stroke risk in 2,462 men and 2,960 women over age 40 who had no previous history of stroke and varying levels of obstructive sleep apnea severity. They followed the participants over the course of about nine years. During that time, 85 men and 108 women had a stroke. Among men, the risk of stroke was present even in those with mild sleep apnea, and it increased as obstructive sleep apnea severity increased.
Among women, an increased stroke risk was observed only among those with severe obstructive sleep apnea. The researchers speculate that the higher risk in men might be due to the fact that men tend to develop obstructive sleep apnea at younger ages than women and that the negative effects are cumulative.
Though it is not known if treating obstructive sleep apnea reduces stroke risk (studies are under way to answer this question), treatment offers a number of benefits, including greater alertness and less sleepiness in the day and improved concentration and memory.
Reported in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine (Volume 182, page 269).
Posted in Hypertension and Stroke on January 10, 2012
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are the authors saying that no one is sure that cpap reduces stroke risk? all this years and no one even knows if the cpap does any good? does this make sense?
Posted by: rich at the shores | January 17, 2012 1:02 PM
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This is only one more study among many over several decades finding the serious consequences of untreated sleep apnea. Yet most people with sleep apnea have never been diagnosed with it, and it is a very common affliction. (Best estimate is 20% of the US adult population.) Why is not screening for sleep apnea done routinely as part of adult physical exams? Until the medical profession adopts that procedure, we must all learn to be alert to the possibility of sleep apnea in ourselves and our loved ones.
Burton Abrams
Posted by: Burt Abrams | January 16, 2012 8:04 AM