Obstructive sleep apnea and cardiovascular disease.

Mehmood Butt, Girish Dwivedi, Omer Khair, Gregory Lip

Research output: Contribution to journalArticle

96 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is a common yet an under-diagnosed sleep related breathing disorder affecting predominantly middle-aged men. OSA is associated with many adverse health outcomes, including cardiovascular disease. Common OSA associated/induced cardiovascular disorders include coronary artery disease, heart failure, hypertension, cardiac arrhythmias and stroke, which further increase morbidity and mortality in the OSA population. Endothelial dysfunction, coagulopathy, impaired sympathetic drive, oxidative and inflammatory stress are the pathophysiological pathways suggested for the development of cardiovascular disease in OSA. The evidence would suggest that OSA should be considered as a cardiovascular risk factor, and is a treatable condition. Multiple studies using Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP) have shown improvements in the clinical state as well as retardation of disease progression. Therefore, patients with cardiovascular disease should be proactively screened for OSA and vice versa.
Original languageEnglish
JournalInternational Journal of Cardiology
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 6 Jun 2009

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