Sleep Apnea and Risk for Stroke
and Death
An observational study of more than 1,000 patients
at the Yale Center for Sleep Medicine found that obstructive
sleep apnea significantly increases the risk of stroke
or death from any cause, and that the risk is linked
to sleep apnea severity. The researchers found the
increased risk to be independent of other factors,
including hypertension. Participants were over age
50 without a history of heart attack or stroke at
the start of the study. They were followed for an
average of just under 3.5 years. The report cites
support from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute
(NHLBI) of the National Institutes of Health, the
Yale Center for Sleep Medicine, and the Veterans Affairs
Health Services Research and Development Service.
“Obstructive Sleep Apnea as a Risk Factor for
Stroke and Death,” and an accompanying editorial,
“Sleep – A New Cardiovascular Frontier,”
by NHLBI grantee Virend K. Somers, M.D., Ph.D., will
be published in the November 10 issue of the New
England Journal of Medicine.
Carl E. Hunt, M.D., director of the NHLBI’s National
Center on Sleep Disorders Research, is available to
comment on the study’s findings and to discuss
the signs and symptoms of obstructive sleep apnea,
and the importance of diagnosing and treating the
sleep-related breathing disorder. Untreated obstructive
sleep apnea has been shown to increase the chance
of cardiovascular disease and associated risk factors
– including high blood pressure, heart attack,
stroke, and diabetes -- as well as injuries or deaths
from work-related accidents and vehicular crashes.
NHLBI is currently supporting several large studies
which follow participants over longer periods of time
to confirm the longitudinal relationship between sleep
apnea and stroke and associated risk factors.
To schedule an interview with Dr. Hunt, contact the
NHLBI Communications Office at 301-496-4236.
For more information about sleep apnea, visit the NHLBI
Web site at http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/dci/Diseases/SleepApnea/SleepApnea_WhatIs.html.
NCSDR is administered by the National Heart, Lung,
and Blood Institute (NHLBI), a component of the National
Institutes of Health (NIH) of the U.S. Department
of Health and Human Services. NIH is the Federal Government’s
primary agency for biomedical and behavioral research.
NHLBI press releases and fact sheets, including information
on sleep apnea, can be found online at www.nhlbi.nih.gov.
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