Even Mild Sleep Apnea Raises Heart Disease Risk

A new study from the Oxford Centre for Respiratory Medicine in the UK has found that people with even minimally symptomatic obstructive sleep apnea may be at increased heart disease risk.

A new study from the Oxford Centre for Respiratory Medicine in the UK has found that people with even minimally symptomatic obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) may be at increased risk for cardiovascular disease because of impaired endothelial function and increased arterial stiffness.

"It was previously known that people with OSA severe enough to affect their daytime alertness and manifest in other ways are at increased risk of cardiovascular disease, but this finding suggests that many more people-some of whom may be completely unaware that they even have OSA-are at risk than previously thought," said lead author of the study, Malcolm Kohler, M.D.

Obstructive Sleep Apnea - Overview
Obstructive sleep apnea should be suspected in overweight middle aged adults who snore loudly and which can cause interruption of breathing for 10 seconds or more and this results in reduced blood o

For the study, Dr. Kohler and colleagues performed a controlled, cross-sectional study to assess differences in endothelial function (often a harbinger for cardiovascular problems to come), arterial stiffness and blood pressure in patients with minimally symptomatic OSA.

They compared 64 patients who had proven OSA to matched control subjects without OSA.

Their findings suggested that minimally symptomatic OSA is a cardiovascular risk factor to a degree not previously known.

Obstructive Sleep Apnea
Obstructive sleep apnea occurs when the tissue in the back of the throat collapses completely blocking the airway. Obstructive sleep apnea is treated using continuous positive airway pressure.

"In our study, the augmentation index, a measure of central arterial stiffness that independently predicts cardiovascular events in high-risk populations, was significantly higher in patients with minimally symptomatic OSA compared to matched controls," said Dr. Kohler.

"We also found impaired endothelial function as indicated by decreased vascular reactivity of their arteries compared to control subjects without OSA," Dr. Kohler added.

Advertisements

Epworth Sleepiness Scale
Measure your daytime sleepiness using this simple interactive tool, based on Epworth Sleepiness disorder Scale. Excessive Daytime Sleepiness is a type of hypersomnia characterized by persistent sleepiness and lack of energy.

The difference in arterial stiffness between OSA patients and control subjects, Dr. Kohler said was "comparable in size to the effect seen after four weeks' continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) therapy in patients with moderate to severe symptomatic OSA."

This suggests that asymptomatic or minimally symptomatic patients with OSA may enjoy a cardiovascular benefit from CPAP therapy.